This was an interesting show and quite a bit of fun. I happened to stumble across a live music listing with Eddie Palmieri a few weeks ago. Since Gran Combo backed out of their date last year, I’ve felt robbed of being able to hear some decent salsa music. When I saw that Eddie was performing, needless to say I jumped at the chance to see the show. Eddie is a legend and was sure to bring the fire needed to quell my salsa craving. I also noticed that Sheila E. was on the playbill, so I was curious how that was going to play out. Let’s just say much better than expected and I ended up getting two quality shows for the price of one!

First things first, let’s talk about Eddie Palmieri. This was the motivating factor in going to the show. Eddie is a living legend. His imprint on Latin jazz and salsa is incredible as a pianist, a writer and band leader. To think that he’s been bringing quality music to this genre for over 60 years is incredible. In my mind, he is already in the Latin jazz hall of fame with such other greats as Chuco Valdez, Tito Puente and Poncho Sanchez. Did I mention that he is almost 86 years old? Well, you couldn’t tell except maybe for the lengthy stories he would tell in between songs. He had a lot of history to share with us all and it was welcomed by the audience. It was such a pleasure to listen to him command his all star band.

I was expecting to see his Afro-Caribbean sextet that he has been touring with off and on for the past 5-6 years. However, instead he brought what would be a much jazzier group (which was music to my ears). Also a six piece band, it featured two amazing horn players (trumpet, alto sax), drums, congas and upright bass along with Eddie on piano. I should have been taking notes as to who these cats were and sadly I could not find any info on-line to validate their names but let me tell you–these guys were fantastic! It was as authentic as Latin jazz gets and then some.

I’ll skip the Latin jazz tutorial here, but suffice to say that Latin jazz is a whole other beast, even compared to what people think of as jazz music. One of the main components that sets it apart is the unmistakable poly-rhythm. For lack of better terminology, Latin jazz rhythm is more of a group effort between the players than just drums and bass. There are staple accents and musical syllables for sure (think Clave), but each player contributes to an overall rhythmic vibe that bobs and weaves across the group as the composition plays out. It’s like a machine that feels like it’s going to go off the rails but magically holds it self together in a new way at every turn. At the same time, each player is almost trying to one-up the others by throwing in some kind of syncopated kink to create new rhythmic elements over the top of the existing ones. This style of rhythmic communication ultimately creates completely different poly-rhythms over the top of the initial base patterns, turns the beat around often and adds colorful accents to the mix. It’s really quite something to listen to and it makes it extremely fun as a player to perform.

While this delicately held together chaos is blending up the most killer rhythms in the background, the soloists are free to really explore each composition. Latin jazz tends to drone out in sections, leaving the harmonic and melodic elements completely wide open for a soloist to fly–which is really cool to hear. There are lots of melodic and harmonic minor scales that add refreshing color to the angular rhythmic patterns. It really shines when you have superior horn players, which of course Eddie did. Both trumpet and alto sax were technically brilliant while at the same time keeping very authentic (and almost nostalgic) classic Latin jazz phrasing. It set the band off for sure.

Of course, then there is Eddie. He often likes to play with the rhythms and harmony, which take the tune into new depths at a moments notice. He may not rip like Michel Camilo anymore, but his style and fire is unmistakable. He worked his magic all through the night and his playing these days is really endearing–it draws you in subtly and take the listener on a journey. You really had no idea where you were going to land, but the ride was well worth it! Because he is so great, he has no trouble assembling the best players. His upright bass player was comparable to Christian McBride, the drummer was rock solid and his conga player brought the real Puerto Rican flavor in full force. All around great band, great playing and excellent ensemble performance.

I tried to keep notes as to the set list, so I’ll give that a shot here. He opened with a really slow, kind of bluesy Latin thing that everyone took a round on. I kept waiting for it to go double-time, but it never did. Honestly, as great as the night was it was like slow water torture waiting for this song to end so they could go more uptempo. The next song came correct in true Latin jazz fusion fashion and they were off to the races. From here out the band was flying! I recall the song “La Libertad” (and accompanying story) next, followed by a lengthy and well performed “Azucar Pa Ti”–one of Eddie’s most famous compositions–which was easily the high point of the set. After this came what I think was called “La Campasa”, which was a very uptempo Merengue type of composition. It was during this song that Sheila E. made a cameo….

But then, all too abruptly the set was over and Eddie’s band was packing up. It might have been an hour or so, but it seemed like such a short set. I thought for sure they would come out and play another set after intermission–I mean, where was Sheila E. going to come in in all this? Sadly, it wasn’t so and that small bit of tasty Eddie Palmieri mofongo was going to have to do for now. It’s hard to imagine that he has that many years left at 86, but in any case I was most satisfied to not only see great Latin jazz music, but one of the masters himself perform behind the piano. Viva Eddie Palmieri!!

To my pleasant surprise, the show was a double bill with Sheila E.’s band as the closer. Sheila E. is quite the percussionista in her own right and cut her teeth performing many a timbale gig with some of the greatest Latin jazz and Salsa players there are. However, most will know her from her stint with Prince in the late eighties, which produced a bunch of great pop hits and some sexy Sheila E. video moments! I didn’t know what to expect this particular evening but I was sure it was going to be good.

The band was much more electric than the soft jazzy dynamic of Eddie’s Palmieri. It was comprised of seven pieces–drums, electric bass, guitar, sax, keys, vocalist and of course Ms. Sheila E. on vocals and percussion! It seemed they took a page from my summer whites vibe (from a recent gig) and were clad head to toe in white apparel. Honestly, it was a good look; very gospel and coordinated. There were a few local cats in the band–I don’t remember their names but the drummer, sax player and keyboardist were all from the triangle area. They were good too, so it’s nice to see some of NC’s homegrown players flirting with the big time. I think it was only the drummer’s 2nd gig, so he’s probably pretty fired up to do a few more. Didn’t really seem to miss a beat either, so that was good to see.

Now the set was all over the place. For the most part it was well received, but if I’m honest there were a few parts I was just biding my time waiting patiently for things to get moving. I mean I’m waiting to hear the Prince joints, dig? I think the word eclectic sums it up nicely. They opened with “Come Together” and then weaved in and out of several different tunes including “A Love Bizzare” (the Michael Hedges cover) and then summoning the Beatle’s “All You Need is Love” to close out the first medley. Somewhere in the middle of the set they went into a gospel-like segue, featuring the vocalist (who apparently is super old school having performed with Parliament and Funkadelic back in the day). She was impressive and had quite the range–I think she hit at least 4 octaves in one setting, from baritone to soprano. I remember them hitting “Heaven Must Be Like This” from the Ohio Players, before shifting into the cheesiest version of Burt Bacharach’s song, “What the World Needs Now is Love”. Then the band drifted into the long guitar outro of “Purple Rain” to close that grouping. Interesting yes, but a little too much medley, too much cheese for me.

Things definitely picked up after that. Sheila E. took a minute to get the crowd into an audience call and response thing that was a lot of fun and very inventive. She had the audience split into two halves, with one side clapping in counterpoint to the other whilst vocalizing different phrases in the pauses between claps. It was really cool and fun to be a part of. Good audience participation is always a winner, so take note all my musician readers! And then finally, it happened–the Prince medley!

Starting with “Erotic City”, Sheila E. and the rest of the band pushed the needle to eleven and came correct with a great medley of her hits from the Prince days. Next up was “You Got the Look” (which I had been calling out here and there during the show, so thanks Sheila!) Boy does that bring back the memories from the 80’s! A tune in there I wasn’t expecting was “America” (from Prince’s ‘Around the World in 80 Days‘ album). I don’t recall her being part of the original recording or album, but nevertheless the band killed it on this tune. It was super energetic and was every bit as lively (perhaps even more so) as the original album version. From there the band went into “Baby I’m a Star”–one of my personal favs from the Purple Rain album. They closed the medley and the show with what I remember being Sheila E.’s most recognizable hit song, “Glamorous Life”. It was a perfect jam to go out on and really ended the performance on a high note.

I want to acknowledge a great crowd and what is also a great outdoor venue at the North Carolina Museum of Art. These guys are really taking the time to present some great shows–I saw Herbie Hancock there last year as an example. Perhaps even better, I’ve got a line in on Kamasi Washington tickets next month, so I can’t wait to go back! Round of applause to you all!

Most of all, I wanted to thank Eddie for keeping it rolling all these years. He’s not only a fantastic musician, but a warm soul that has contributed so much to the Latin jazz genre over the years. If you have the chance to go see his band, I highly recommend. It is as authentic as Latin jazz gets and even brings things up to an “extra” level from there. Thank you again Eddie and Sheila E. for making a great night of music!