harlem river drive - the press release
When Eddie Palmieri gathered together the musicians that would form Harlem River Drive, he pulled in some of the finest soul and Latin musicians that he could find on the New York scene. This was to be a groundbreaking album that mixed those two musical worlds whilst at the same time displaying a social conscience. The results - released on Roulette, the parent (pop) label of Tico, the Latin label to whom Eddie was signed - was a fantastic brew. Since the early 90s its’ five tracks have been sought after and coveted by beat heads and funk collectors the world over becoming - to paraphrase from Masters At Work - a Nuyorican classic, and its low original sales have meant that an original copy will not come cheap if you should find one.
Eddie was born in 1936 and was brought up in Spanish Harlem and the South Bronx, places with a large concentration of families - like the Palmieri’s - who had originally come from Puerto Rica. His family owned a radio and candy store called El Mambo where there was often music playing, and from an early age Eddie learned to play the piano, and also taking up the timbales in an attempt to emulate his hero Tito Puente.
By the early 50s - with Eddie concentrating fully on the piano - his older brother Charlie was already playing in many of the biggest Latin bands of the day, and when you’re that close to the bands’ of Puente and Tito Rodriguez of which his brother was a member I’m pretty sure the musicians life will look quite alluring. He formed his first band whilst he was still at school, and then in 1955 he joined his first professional outfit the Johnny Sequis Band. The next few years saw him gravitate up the hierarchy of bands - replacing his brother in Vincentico Valdes’ band and then holding down the piano spot with Tito Rodriguez between 1958 and 1960.
Eddie then formed his own band, playing the then popular pachanga style, but instead of playing with just a rhythm section and violins like Johnny Pacheco, he added horns for a distinctive sound. His sound was dubbed ‘La Perfecta’ and he made his first recordings for the Allegre label, but quite quickly ended up at the Tico label, which was the leading Latin label of the day - they even scored a Top 40 pop hit with Ray Barretto’s ‘El Watusi’. The ensuing years saw Eddie gain in popularity whilst always following a distinctive path, whether recording in the boogaloo style that hit it big in the mid 60s or joining forces with jazz vibraphonist Cal Tjader. Tjader had often worked with Latin rhythms - Cuban percussionist Mongo Santamaria had first made his name in his band - but his collaboration with Eddie was the first for a Nuyorican musician.
By the late 60s Eddie was becoming concerned with reflecting real life and social conditions within his recordings. His first step into this field was with the album ‘Justicia’, but the concept crystallised with the Harlem River Drive project. Eddie put together a group of some of the finest musicians in New York, and then with their help created a sound that reflected the city’s melting pot of different cultural influences. For many the presence of the likes of Gerry Germont, Bernard Purdie and Cornell Dupree, the first choice rhythm section for many a Big Apple soul session, would be a key factor, but, although they all make telling contributions to the music, they are not the main players. Those are Eddie himself, baritone saxophonist Ronnie Cuber and vocalist Jimmy Norman.
Cuber is a great player, often heard playing alongside Hammond organ great Dr Lonnie Smith. His deep sound is distinctive, because although the baritone often plays a section part in orchestras and big bands it is rarely a featured instrument. On Harlem River Drive he arranges all the horns as well, and it is their powerful sound that drives the album along. Norman was a veteran RnB performer, who has released many 45s down the years and has worked with all sorts of people from Jimi Hendrix to Bob Marley, and was a member of the Coasters from the early 70s onwards. He also wrote a bunch of the lyrics for the Irma Thomas / Rolling Stones hit ‘Time Is On My Side’. His voice, in the context of this album at least, is the definitive sound of New York soul. The supporting cast isn’t half bad either. Eddie’s brother Charlie plays the organ, Nicky Marrero handles a lot of the percussion duties and Randy Brecker’s trumpet graces the closing number ‘Seeds Of Life’.
The opening Harlem River Drive (Theme) shows us where we are at, with its slinky funk groove, and some spooky Charlie Palmieri organ, Jimmy Norman tells us all about Harlem River Drive. This leads us into the up-tempo If (We Had Peace Today) the most straight forward RnB track on the album. Idle Hands is an epic journey that melds biblical imagery, funky Purdie drums and incisive Latin horns to spectacular effect. Side two of the original album opens up with Broken Home, a track that builds with a long intro that sees interplay between Eddie’s piano and Bob Bianco’s soprano sax, before it enters the world of social realism taking us into the world of run-down tenements and the harshness of ghetto life. Seeds Of Life takes us up - both in tempo and feeling.
Eddie next took the Harlem River Drive group into the notorious prison Sing-Sing to play a concert, which was then recorded and released as ‘Live At Sing Sing Volume 1 & 2’. By then however Eddie was already onto his next project, and he returned to a purer Latin form that spotlighted his awesome piano skills. During the next 30 or so years - he has a new album out soon on the Concord Picanté label - he has remained at the forefront of Latin music; winning seven Latin music Grammys - including the very first.
This album is an important point in his career, one in which he deliberately broke down the musical barriers and left us with one of the great fusion albums, in a period when a lot of fusion albums were attempted and many failed.
You must own this album.