Transcript of Eddie Palmieri on La Perfecta
"Tema La Perfecta" up and under
HOST MARK RUFFIN: Now, a Jazz Moment. With his seminal band, La Perfecta, NEA Jazz Master Eddie Palmieri redefined what a Latin jazz orchestra looked like. Eddie Palmieri.
EDDIE PALMIERI: We started with seven and then we added another trombone. We were the first band, we set the whole new precedent of an orchestra having two trombones upfront.
MARK RUFFIN: Anchoring the band was the great trombonist, Barry Rodgers.
EDDIE PALMIERI: Barry was so essential to La Perfecta. I always said later on after we met and worked together that if God is perfection, then Barry was near perfection. Everything he did, he was truly a genius. And because of him, he was a complete stimulant to get me into Latin jazz.
"Tema La Perfecta" up and hot
MARK RUFFIN: This Jazz Moment with bandleader and pianist Eddie Palmieri was produced by the National Endowment for the Arts.
