When people describe Eddie Palmieri at the piano, they say it sounds like he's playing drums, even two pianos at once.

“It's quite difficult to do,” Palmieri explained. “Some pianists have done it and then when they're ready to start, they get all confused and next thing they go, ‘I don't know how he does that.’”

It's a unique and unmistakable sound, one that Palmieri has been working at and perfecting for more than seven decades.

What You Need To Know

  • Despite his role ushering in the sounds that led to salsa, Palmieri dislikes the term and has never considered himself a "salsero." He prefers to call it "Afro Cuban" or "Afro Caribbean" music

  • Even though he turned 87 last December, Palmieri continues to practice every day and recently finished a set of shows at Blue Note

  • He's known as "the Maestro," but Palmieri prefers to be considered an eternal student

Even at 87, Palmieri still practices every day and recently finished a series of shows at the Blue Note, where he was reunited with some of the greatest Latin musicians in the world, many who have been at his side for decades.

That musical journey, exploring the rhythms and sounds of what would lead to what we now know as salsa, began in his home in the South Bronx, following the footsteps of his older brother Charlie.

“When I get on the bandstand, that's our altar. And when you have musicians, like I have, young students of music, what the audience is getting is quality of the highest degree. And that means so much to me,” Palmieri said.

After briefly playing the drums with his uncle's band, Palmieri switched to the piano and embarked on a career that would secure his place among the musical giants of the 20th and 21st Century.

It coalesced with his band La Perfecta, formed in the early 60s, which featured a unique use at that time of the trombones and a sound that would come to be known as the Roaring Elephants.

Fresh from his gigs at the Blue Note, with full houses pretty much every night, a rejuvenated maestro insists what still drives him is the desire to keep learning, a philosophy he has applied to both music and life and believes will be an integral part of his legacy.

“I consider myself very blessed with the talent that was given, with the preparation that I was given from all the different teachers,” Palmieri said.

“That'll be on my gravestone. ‘Eddie Palmieri, very proud to be a great student of music,” he added.