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Multi-Grammy winner Eddie Palmieri is releasing his second salsa album of the year, Mi Luz Mayor. Special guests include salsa iconic vocalists Gilberto Santa Rosa and Herman Olivera as well as guitarist Carlos Santana. The latter plays on only one track, “Mi Congo.” Including Palmieri and guests, there are 32 musicians credited on the album dedicated mostly to Palmieri’s late wife, Iraida. He envisions these songs as their love story, aiming for perfection on every track from start to finish. Having seen Palmieri and his band recently, he presents a charming presence personally while introducing the tunes, plays a Monk-like highly percussive piano and has, rather obviously, a top-notch band that can blow the roof off any auditorium and fill the dance floor within minutes.
At age 82, New York-born Palmieri shows no signs of slowing down. The summer release of his salsa classics Full Circle drew plenty of interest for the album and its accompanying PalmieriSalsaJams.app, the world’s first interactive Salsa music app on Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah’s Stretch Music app platform. Palmieri has been a bandleader, composer and arranger since the 1950s, having now garnered ten Grammy Awards. He has influenced countless musicians including Chick Corea, Ruben Blades, Willie Colon and the Fania All-Stars, Christian McBride and hip hop pioneer Bobbito Garcia.
Assuming our readers know all about Carlos Santana, a few words on the two guest vocalists are in order before we describe the album material. Puerto Rican native Gilberto Santa Rosa, known as “El Caballero de la Salsa” (The Gentleman of Salsa) has been a primary figure in Latin music since he recorded as a backup singer with Mario Ortiz Orchestra in 1976 and later as lead singer for the La Grande Orchestra. He has recorded with the Puerto Rico All Stars and various orchestras while developing in both the ‘’tropical’’ and “romantic” styles of salsa music. He became a band leader in 1986 and hasn’t looked back since, garnering countless awards, including six Grammys and delivering 30 albums as a leader, essentially one per year, many of them highly acclaimed. In fact Santa Rosa holds the Guinness World Record by topping the tropical albums chart with a total of 12 albums. His style is generally referred to as traditional-cum-romantic style.
Newark, NJ-born Herman Olivera is a sonero (improvised lead singer in salsa) and has appeared on over 45 albums, received four Grammy nominations and two Grammy Awards. He has performed with both Palmieri and Tito Puente. Herman received international recognition in the early 80s as the lead singer of “Conjunto Libre,” a legendary salsa group, with many of their hits now salsa standards. He has collaborated with every important artist in the salsa genre.
The album represents a mix of eight salsa tunes that Palmieri holds dear as well as three originals. Santa Rosa and Olivera each have five lead vocals. The opener “Abarrriba Cumblaremos” was originally recorded by Tito Rodriguez with Eddie’s brother Charlie on piano. Ray Santos embellished the arrangement by adding saxes and trombones, saluting the country of Columbia. “Mi Congo” is an original enhanced by Santos’ arrangements and features the unmistakable guitar of Carlos Santana. The title track is another original which Santos amplified for a big band with lyrics.
”Que Falta Tu Me Haces” is a bolero composed by Bobby Capo, a prolific composer with Santos providing a French horn lead in the arrangement, and Santa Rosa at perhaps his most expressive. “Quimbombo” is notable in that it was originally arranged by Rene Hernandez, the pianist of the “Machito and the Afro Cubans” Orchestra. This arrangement comes courtesy of Jose Madera and it features the best example of Palmieri’s improvisational piano. Herman takes the lead vocal on the next two, displaying his versatility on the up-tempo “El Resbaloso” and the warm ballad “Sonando con Puerto Rico.”
The trombone-driven “Tremendo Cumban” features Santa Rosa leading, backed by the ensemble, an animated chorus and Palmieri’s sparkling piano. “Yo Soy Mulato” is a new Palmieri tunes saluting his Puerto Rican heritage and specially his grandmother of African descent. Olivera takes the lead. The album concludes with one that literally broke the roof of the old Palladium Ballroom when Tito Rodriguez performed “Sun Sun Babae” with his band. The story is that the ceiling of the Blarney Stone bar below was damaged when dancers stomped in union with the horns during the vamp of the first mambo. Palmieri and company capture similar excitement here.
The ensemble parts are bright, strong, and dynamic while the soloing is minimal but exceptional in its economical spots with percussion bubbling and percolating throughout. It’s a terrific salsa album by legendary performers in the genre; well-paced, warm and diverse enough in styles to make for excellent listening. It defies those who easily dismiss salsa music as “sounding the same.” Dancing goes without saying.
