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This is Fresh Air. I'm David B. and Cooley.

Eddie Palmieri, the pianist, bandleader and composer,

whose contributions to Afro-Caribbean music

shaped the evolving genre for decades, died Wednesday.

He was 88 years old.

His first album, La Perfecta,

is credited for launching the musical salsa movement

when it came out in 1962.

Music musical salsa movement when it came out in 1962. Come Come Come to Come

to Eddie Palmyri, Eddie Palmyra was born in New York City in 1936, the son of Puerto Rican immigrants who found work quickly.

His mom as a seamstress and his dad as a radio and TV repairman.

When Eddie was five years old, his family moved to the South Bronx and opened up an ice cream parlor.

Eddie worked behind the counter as a soda jerk and also controlled the jukebox,

which was stocked with hits by Tito Puente, Tito Rodriguez, and Machito.

He began taking piano lessons when he was eight and led his first band at 14.

In 1961, he borrowed $1,000 to pay for a month's rent on a nightclub in the Bronx,

using it as a

headquarters to experiment with various musical lineups for music he wanted to record.

He settled on what he called at the time his perfect formula, the band he called La Perfecta,

...