Full Circle (Ropeadope)
Eddie Palmieri
Released July 20, 2018
AllMusic Favorite Jazz Albums 2018
2018 NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll Top 5 Latin Album
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_m9kDNbaScLvPbKkJT3Mp2Om9HPSMbndwQ
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About:
A titan of Latin Jazz and Salsa music, Eddie Palmieri – known as “El Maestro” – is still making musical history. The multi-Grammy Award winning pianist and music legend announces the release of Full Circle, with 9 classic salsa tracks recorded with a stunning cast of musicians from New York and beyond. The album release will be preceded by the introduction of the PalmieriSalsaJams App, the world’s first interactive Salsa music app on Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah’s Stretch Music App platform.
With a career that spans several decades, and still going strong, the 81 years young Eddie is poised to continue his lifelong talent for innovation. The National Endowment for the Arts distinguished Jazz Master Award and the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Science Lifetime Achievement Award recipient has always been at the forefront of major shifts and modernizations in the music industry. From his use of a front line of trombones, rather than Latin orchestra’s usual trumpets, in his heralded La Perfecta band in the 1960s, to his eight and a half minute recording Azucar Pa’ Ti being added to the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry and breaking the three and a half minute industry imposed standard recording length, he pushes the creative envelope. El Maestro has earned numerous honors and broken down many barriers. The release of some of his greatest Salsa classics in the form of an interactive app is just another in a long line of firsts for the music icon.
Full Circle is due out on the new Uprising Music label via Ropeadope on July 20. With fresh renditions of Salsa classics, Full Circle finds Mr. Palmieri teamed with world-class musicians from the New York scene that have played with him over the last decade; Ronnie Cuber, Brian Lynch, Nicky Marrero and many more. On Full Circle listeners will hear the basic harmonic and rhythmic structures of the original recordings but with Eddie exploring more freely and aggressively than ever on his solos. These are true representatives of Palmieri at the peak of his creative power.
An interactive music player of the Full Circle recording, the PalmieriSalsaJams App (powered by Stretch Music and Spectrum) is sure to please musicians and audiophiles alike. It gives musicians the ability to completely control their practicing, listening and learning experience by customizing the player to fit their specific needs and goals. The app has the capability to mute, solo, pan and fade any instrument chosen along with tempo control, looping and sheet music for each part.
Eddie Palmieri once again pushes boundaries by building bridges; between musicians, listeners, and now young students with interactive technology. Full Circle begins yet another chapter in the Palmieri legacy.
Track Listing:
1. Vámonos Pa’l Monte 6:20
2. Azúcar 8:04
3. Muñeca 9:59
4. Lindo Yambú 7:49
5. Óyelo Que Te Conviene 5:06
6. Palo Pa’ Rumba 9:53
7. Pa’ La Ocha Tambó 5:44
8. Vámonos Pa’l Monte – Big Band Extended 7:31
Lyrics, Compositions & Musical Structures: Eddie Palmieri
Additional Arrangements: Jose Madera (Track 8, Vámonos Pa’l Monte), Louis Fouché (Track 1, Vámonos Pa’l Monte)
Personnel:
Eddie Palmieri: piano (1-8)
Herman Olivera: lead vocal, coros (1-8)
Luques Curtis: bass (1-8)
Camilo Molina: timbales (1-8)
“Little” Johnny Rivero: congas (1-8), cowbell (1-6)
Nelson González: tres (1-8)
Jimmy Bosch: trombone (1-8)
Conrad Herwig: trombone (1-6 & 8)
Jonathan Powell: trumpet (1-8)
Louis Fouché: alto sax (1-8)
Jeremy Bosch: background vocals (1-7)
Nicky Marrero: bongos (1-6), timbalito (4)
Ronnie Cuber: baritone sax (7)
Anthony Carrillo: bongo, cowbell (7 & 8)
John Walsh: trumpet (7 & 8)
Quique González: background vocals (7 & 8)
Brian Lynch: trumpet (8)
Pete Nater: trumpet (8)
Chris Washburne: trombone (8)
Doug Beavers: trombone (8)
Tokinori Kajiwara: trombone (8)
Joe Fiedler: trombone (8)
Ivan Renta: tenor sax (8)
Jeremy Powell: tenor sax (8)
Yosvany Terry: alto sax (8)
Gary Smulyan: baritone sax (8)
Tracks 1 – 6 recorded at Kaleidoscope Sound (Union City, NJ) & Avatar Studios (NYC)
Mixing & Mastering: Nelson Jaime Studios (Long Island, NY)
Recording Engineers: Chris Sulit, Javier Raez
Mixing & Mastering Engineer: Nelson Jaime
Tracks 7 & 8
Recording, Mixing & Mastering: Avatar Studios (NYC)
Recording & Mixing Engineers: Jay Messina, Tim Marchiafava
Mastering Engineer: Fred Kevorkian
Musical Producers: Eddie Palmieri & Eddie Palmieri II
Co-Producers: Luques Curtis, Zaccai Curtis, Louis Fouché
Associate Producer: Andrès Abenante
Executive Producers: Frank Abenante, Eddie Palmieri II & Zoilo R. Torres
Graphic Design: Geoff Case
Cover Photo: Jason Elon Goodman
Review:
Like pianist Thelonious Monk, his primary jazz influence, Eddie Palmieri has been playing jazz since the 1960s, and has revisited his favorite compositions numerous times. Age 81 in 2018, Palmieri delivers a companion to 2017’s brilliant Sabiduría, a set that provided an evolutionary overview of some of his best Afro Caribbean jazz tunes. It was deservedly acclaimed as one of the finest records in his career. Full Circle offers eight of Palmieri’s salsa compositions as the jump-off point of exploration. Cut in three days, Palmieri brought his all-star tentet (that includes bassist Luques Curtis, trombonist Conrad Herwig, and lead vocalist Hermán Olivera) to anchor all the cuts, and added an expanded cast on an extended big-band version of “Vamonos Pa’l Monte,” whose two versions bookend the set.
Palmieri kept basic harmonies and rhythmic architectures, but expanded musical boundaries with extended solos and group interplay. El Maestro is a generous bandleader. Palmieri’s trademark restlessness doesn’t explore for its own sake, but rather to imbue these compositions with deeper meanings and resonant timbres and textures. “Muneca” first appeared on 1962’s La Perfecta. This version is utterly transformed into a hot salsa jam (from charanga) with solos from everyone. Palmieri’s blazing solo bursts with dissonant, dark chords, accompanied by fiery montunos and sharply inserted left-hand rhythmic variations. They underscore the congas and timbales as the horns punctuate and dance around them. This version of “Azúcar” is the fifth since its debut appearance on 1965’s Azucar Pa’Ti — in an even longer take than the eight-minute one here. Palmieri’s solo builds laterally along several lines at once, first on the chord vamp, then on the bassline, then in fiery interaction with Nelson Gonzalez’s tres. The aforementioned big-band version of “Vámonos Pa’l Monte,” which first appeared on an album of the same name in 1971, was arranged by Ray Santos. Its roots are in burning ’70s-styled Nuyorican hard salsa but it’s augmented here by five trombones, five saxophones, and three trumpets (including Brian Lynch’s). Over seven minutes, its furious pace is driven by Curtis’ rumbling bassline. In the middle section, Palmieri wanders off into modern jazz improvisation, using minor-chord voicings from the lower-middle register atop the frenetic percussion section. “Pa’La Ocha Tambó” adds guest horn players (most notably baritone saxist Ronnie Cuber). But here, the rhythms and call-and-response vocal style are upfront, with Palmieri’s piano pushing them on in a mean post-bop groove juxtaposed with vintage Cuban son. The recording’s release coincides with the appearance of the interactive Palmieri Salsa Jams App, the world’s first interactive salsa music app. It gives musicians the ability to completely control their listening, practicing, and learning experience by being able to customize the player — it can mute, solo, pan, and fade and loop any instrument with tempo control. It also provides detailed sheet music. Full Circle stands alongside Sabiduría. Palmieri’s salsa aesthetic is brilliantly presented by his hyper-modern reinventions on classic themes. El Maestro’s late career surge is nothing less than awe-inspiring.
Thom Jurek (AllMusic)
