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Known as one of the finest pianists of the past 60 years, Eddie Palmieri is a bandleader, arranger and composer of salsa and Latin jazz.

His playing skillfully fuses the rhythm of his Puerto Rican heritage with the complexity of his jazz influences: Thelonious Monk, Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner as well as his older brother, Charlie Palmieri.

Palmieri’s parents emigrated from Ponce, Puerto Rico to New York City in 1926. Born in Spanish Harlem and raised in the Bronx, Palmieri learned to play the piano at an early age, and at 13, he joined his uncle’s orchestra, playing timbales.

Palmieri’s professional career as a pianist took off with various bands in the early 1950s including Eddie Forrester, Johnny Segui’s, and the popular Tito Rodriguez Orchestra. In 1961, Palmieri formed his own band, La Perfecta, which featured an unconventional front line of trombones rather than the trumpets customary in Latin orchestras. This created an innovative sound that mixed American jazz into Afro-Caribbean rhythms, surprising critics and fans alike. Palmieri disbanded La Perfecta in 1968 to pursue different musical endeavors, though he would return to the band’s music in the 2000s.

“John di Martino's middle name should be 'taste', for he conveys that quality in both solo and supportive roles, in jazz as well as Latin music.”

—Ray Barretto

Acclaimed jazz pianist John di Martino brings his quartet to Zinc to celebrate the music of composer Billy Strayhorn on Tuesday, October 25. He’s supported by tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander, bassist Kenny Davis, and drummer Carmen Intorre.

John di Martino has been described by Paul Pines as a musical "shape shifter", inhabiting three different worlds. As a straight-ahead jazz pianist, he has performed and recorded with such notables as Kenny Burrell, Pat Martino, James Moody, and Eddie Gomez. Mr. di Martino is a sought-after musical director and has accompanied Jon Hendricks, Diane Schuur, and the late Billy Eckstine.

Showtimes are at 7:00 PM and 8:30 pm. Tickets: $25 advance / $30 day of show. For more info, visit http://zincjazzcom.

Samir LanGus is a Grammy Award-nominated gnawa musician, born and raised in the city of Ait Melloule, Morocco whose passion for music stems from the variety of street sounds of his home city. Currently based in NYC, LanGus adds his own contemporary spin to the traditional spiritual trance music, mixing jazz instrumentation and North African tradition with New York attitude. Omar Aena is of Iraqi descent and is a DJ, community organizer, and event producer based in NYC. He is the founder of Dance Lab, a Brooklyn-based collective that explores dance as a form of somatic healing. Omar Aena mixes traditional world music and electronic sounds, with a focus on middle-eastern music.

A compilation of stories, interviews and photos on the legendary vocalist Tony Bennett from the WBGO archives and other sources

A professional musician for over 45 years, percussionist, Steve Kroon has worked with artists as diverse as Luther Vandross to Ron Carter. He sat down…

On the March 9 edition of the WBGO Journal, WBGO's Doug Doyle chats with Kristin Chenoweth and pays tribute to WBGO's Rob Crocker

It has been seventeen years since the September 11th attack and from all outward signs it appears that lower Manhattan, the physical place, has fully…

On this edition of AOS, Lezlie Harrison and Rutgers University's Wayne Winborne talk about hosting the WBGO trip to South Africa

On the March 22 WBGO Journal, we get a preview of "King James" at GSP and a review of the new baseball movie "Eephus"