Palmieri Provides Backbeat for Some Talented Musicians

Pianist Eddie Palmieri’s octet has become the Afro-Caribbean equivalent of the late Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, serving to introduce the public to young, emerging musicians.

Friday’s appearance of Palmieri’s ensemble at the Veterans Wadsworth Theater proved to be a showcase for Palmieri’s three-man percussion section as they pounded out a variety of tight dance rhythms and, in the case of conga player Richie Flores and bongo player Paoli Meijia, technically impressive, rhythmically rich solos.

Despite the rhythmic intensity, Palmieri was unable to deliver on his promise, made in his pre-performance lecture, to get the otherwise enthusiastic, near-capacity crowd up and dancing.

If Palmieri himself seemed cast in the background, it was because he was so magnanimous with the solo spotlight, letting the younger players in his band shine while being content to provide rhythmic accompaniment or lay out all together.

Palmieri opened several of the pieces with his characteristic, florid introductions decorated with synthesizer effects, efforts that suggested a number of tempo variations while hinting subtly at a tune’s theme. Inside the pieces, he took a few, brief solos that built on chordal flash or chockablock phrases, improvisations that seemed to dance and stop and dance again as they progressed.

But the evening’s most impressive moments came from the cat-quick hands of Meijia and Flores, whose solos, unlike many percussion features, put musicality in front of flashy showmanship. Timbale player Jose Clausell, while providing rippling accent and cymbal shimmers during ensemble play, seemed more intent on making a visual statement during his improvisation, dancing and twirling as he played spare, widely spaced phrases.

Equally impressive was Palmieri’s horn section: alto saxophonist Donald Harrison, trumpeter Brian Lynch (both veterans of Blakey’s Messengers) and trombonist Conrad Herwig. Herwig was especially adept at maneuvering through the upbeat rhythms, presenting ambitious, often rollicking lines without resorting to the huff-and-puff gimmicks employed by so many slide players.

Palmieri’s recent recorded work, loaded with offbeat horn section fills and startling rhythmic breaks, has highlighted his arranging and composing skills. Yet the pieces presented here, with the exception of a much-disguised version of “Caravan,” were direct, to-the-point affairs with little decoration.

Though this was not one of the pianist’s most memorable performances (he was hampered by uneven sound and, at one point, the failure of his electric piano), his craft as player and bandleader was abundantly evident.