Media Contact: Lori N. Jones, ljones@fairfield.edu, 203-254-4000 x2975
FAIRFIELD, Conn. (October 25, 2017) — Eddie Palmieri’s career has spanned more than six decades, and accumulated eight Grammy Awards and 14 nominations - but what else would you expect from a man who played Carnegie Hall at age 11, and joined his first band at 13? On Sunday, November 5 at 3:00 p.m., he comes to the Quick Center for the Arts at Fairfield University to celebrate his 80th birthday with a joyful retrospective: Eddie at 80.
Eddie Palmieri’s parents emigrated from Ponce, Puerto Rico to New York City in 1926. Born in Spanish Harlem and raised in the Bronx, Palmieri learned to play the piano at an early age, and at 13, he joined his uncle’s orchestra, playing timbales. Active on the Latin music scene for over 60 years, his bands, La Perfecta, Harlem River Drive, and La Perfecta II, infused the popular salsa of the day with a rich New York Latin sound, bringing a unique vibrance to an already robust genre.
Since 1976 he has won eight Grammy Awards, including Best Latin Jazz Album (2006, 2007), Best Salsa Album (2001), Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album (1985, 1986, 1988), and Best Latin Recording (1976, 1977), among countless other awards and honorifics, including the National Endowment of the Arts’ coveted Jazz Master award. The Boston Globe revered Palmieri as “the most consistently innovative artist in Afro-Cuban music in the United States for the past 30 years.”
Now, at age 80, Eddie Palmieri shows no signs of slowing down as he leads his band from his piano, stomping his feet to richly executed rhythm and tone of his own design - the vivacious melodies begging to be danced to.
This event is sponsored by the Darien Rowayton Bank and the Westport Inn. Tickets are $60, $50, and $38 for Quick Members. In addition, Quick Members enjoy a VIP reception. For more information or to reserve your seat, visit www.quickcenter.com or call the box office at 203-254-4010 or toll free at 1-877-ARTS-396.
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Posted On: 11-13-2017 11:11 AM
Volume: 50 Number: 64
Fairfield University is a modern Jesuit Catholic university rooted in one of the world’s oldest intellectual and spiritual traditions. More than 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students from the U.S. and across the globe are pursuing degrees in the University’s five schools. Fairfield embraces a liberal humanistic approach to education, encouraging critical thinking, cultivating free and open inquiry, and fostering ethical and religious values. The University is located on a stunning 200-acre campus on the scenic Connecticut coast just an hour from New York City.