June 13, 2011 – Last Saturday Eddie Palmieri and his orchestra performed as part of the 2011 Playboy Jazz Festival, and Los Angeles received them with open arms. “Eddie Palmieri was amazing,” said Alberto Gonzalez, the bandleader of the local Salsa band LA Salsa Caliente. "He opened up with one of his classic songs,Muneca, and the crowd got into it immediately. From the opening song until his last song Eddie and the band had the crowd up on their feet dancing.” With Palmieri on stage were the regular members of his band, including Jose Claussell, Little Johnny Rivero, Brian Lynch, and singer Herman Olivera. Olivera, a friend of Gonzalez, “took care of his vocal business as usual,” worth congratulating.
A YouTube video posted on TheOfficialBillCosby channel shows the famous comedian mingling with Palmieri and his musicians prior to their performance (see here), and during it, Cosby joined the band on stage to play the maracas.
Taking advantage of the platform that a big event like the Playboy Festival provides, Palmieri also spoke to the press about his disappointment with NARAS decision to eliminate Latin Jazz as one of the categories for the Grammys. See video here. More about the NARAS decision here.
The 33rd annual Playboy Jazz Festival concluded Sunday successfully, an event that founder Hugh Heffner can continue to count as the proudest accomplishment of his life. “I’ve had a lot of things to be proud in my life,” said Heffner, “but nothing more, quite frankly, than the Jazz festival.”
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