Eddie Palmieri is an incomparable performer and bandleader of some of the most energetic concerts in Jazz at Lincoln Center's history. This season, the NEA Jazz Master and nine-time Grammy Award-winner continues his fast-paced career in Rose Theater for an 80th birthday blowout. One of the finest pianists of the past 50 years, Palmieri is a bandleader, arranger, and composer known for skillfully fusing complex jazz harmonies with the rhythms of his Puerto Rican heritage and of various Afro-Latin and Afro-Caribbean fusions. He’s also mentored and toured with countless musicians, many of whom have become leaders in their own right. This celebratory performance will be like a mini-reunion for Palmieri’s school of music, featuring over a dozen esteemed vocalists and instrumentalists – with an extensive Latin rhythm section including congas, timbales, bongos, and maracas. This concert is sure to get the crowd moving. 80 years young, Palmieri remains an engaging innovator and a joyful unifier whose ideas explode from the stage with an irresistibly kinetic energy.