Charlie Palmieri › Similar Artists

Eddie Palmieri - 100% match to Charlie Palmieri

Eduardo Palmieri, 15 December 1936, South Bronx, New York City, New York, USA, of Puerto Rican parentage. The self-avowed pioneering ‘oxygen cocktail’ of contemporary salsa, pianist, band leader, composer, arranger, producer Palmieri began playing the piano at the age of eight. He also played timbales, and wanted to specialize in the instrument, but changed his min Read more

Roberto Roena - 79% match to Charlie Palmieri

16 January c.1940, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico; his last name is occasionally spelt as Rohena. A salsa band leader, Roena began his musical career as a dancer with various bands in Puerto Rico - he later became known as ‘El Gran Bailarín’ (The Great Dancer). While performing as a dancer and chorus singer with Cortijo Y Su Combo, the band’s leader Rafael Read more

Cheo Feliciano - 73% match to Charlie Palmieri

José Feliciano, 3 July 1935, Ponce, Puerto Rico. Feliciano took an early interest in music, especially bolero, and when only eight years old he and some friends formed a group, El Combo Las Latas, in which he was a percussionist although all of their instruments were homemade. In his early teens he had some formal tuition in music but then, in 1952, his father moved t Read more

Joe Cuba - 62% match to Charlie Palmieri

Gilberto Miguel Calderon, 22 April 1931, New York City, New York, USA; of Puerto Rican parentage. Calderon, who was a salesman by day, played conga with the Joe Panama Quintet, whose other personnel were: Panama (leader/piano), Jimmy Sabater (timbales/vocals), Willie Torres (lead vocals), Tommy Berrios (vibraphone) and Roy Rosa (bass). In late 1954, the pianist, composer and Read more

Ray Barretto - 59% match to Charlie Palmieri

29 April 1929, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA, d. 17 February 2006, Hackensack, New Jersey, USA. Born to Puerto Rican parents, Barretto was raised in East Harlem and the Bronx and was a prominent Latin band leader for many decades. However, he started his professional career as a jazz recording session conga player. To escape the ghetto he joined the army at 17. Infl Read more

Tommy Olivencia - 53% match to Charlie Palmieri

Ángel Tomás Olivencia Pagán, 3 May 1938, Villa Palmera, Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico, d. 22 September 2006, San Juan, Puerto Rico. During the five decades of its existence, Olivencia’s band acted as an ‘incubator’ for various notable solo salsa singers, including Marvin Santiago, Paquito Guzmán, Lalo Rodríguez, Gilberto Sa Read more

Cachao - 41% match to Charlie Palmieri

Hilton Ruiz - 39% match to Charlie Palmieri

29 May 1952, New York City, New York, USA, d. 6 June 2006, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Ruiz studied piano from an early age, performing public recitals as a small child. In the mid- to late 60s he worked as a professional musician in bands playing Latin American music. In the early 70s he turned to jazz, studying with Mary Lou Williams. Later in the decade he played on nume Read more

Sierra Maestra - 37% match to Charlie Palmieri

Contemporary Cuban son and salsa band Sierra Maestra take their name from the mountain range to the east of the island. They formed in 1976 to play traditional son music, using the historic instrumental line-up of tres, trumpet, bongo and claves which had been all but forsaken by new generations. Playing acoustically, they depend on potent harmonies and punchy rhythms to win ov Read more

El Gran Combo De Puerto Rico - 36% match to Charlie Palmieri

In May 1962, under the leadership of pianist/arranger/composer Rafael Ithier, members of Rafael Cortijo’s Combo deserted to become the 11-piece El Gran Combo (EGC). The defectors were Rogelio ‘Kito’ Vélez (d. 1990; trumpet and arrangements); Eddie Pérez and Héctor Santos (saxophones), Martin Quiñones (conga), Roberto Roena (bongo and d Read more

Poncho Sanchez - 34% match to Charlie Palmieri

30 October 1951, Laredo, Texas, USA. The youngest of 11 children, Sanchez taught himself to play guitar, flute, drums and timbales before choosing the conga. He was raised in Norwalk, California, where he played with local bands although his first engagement was as a singer with an R&B band. Among the artists he listened to in these formative years were Machito, Tito Pue Read more

Mongo Santamaria - 33% match to Charlie Palmieri

Ramón Santamaría, 7 April 1922, Jesús María district, Havana, Cuba, d. 1 February 2003, Miami, Florida, USA. Percussionist and band leader Santamaría (nicknamed Mongo by his father) arrived in New York at the end of the 40s. There he performed with the first charanga (flute, violins, rhythm section and voices band) to be organized in the ci Read more

Fruko Y Sus Tesos - 32% match to Charlie Palmieri

Joe Cuba Sextet - 26% match to Charlie Palmieri

Tito Puente - 26% match to Charlie Palmieri

Ernesto Antonio Puente Jnr., 20 April 1923, Harlem Hospital, New York City, New York, USA, d. 31 May 2000, New York City, New York, USA. Born of Puerto Rican parentage, Puente began piano lessons when he was seven years old and around the age of 10 started tuition in drums and percussion, which became his forte. Around 1936, Puente commenced his professional career as a drum Read more