Eddie Palmieri, a legendary figure and pioneer of salsa and Latin jazz, died at the age of 88 on Wednesday.
A post on Palmieri's official Facebook page said the pianist, composer and bandleader passed away at his residence in New Jersey.
Palmieri, a 10-time Grammy Award winner, "revolutionized the sound of Latin jazz and salsa across a career that spanned more than seven decades," the post said.
He was born in Spanish Harlem, and was the younger brother to Charlie Palmieri, also a pioneering Latin pianist.
The post on his Facebook page remembered the younger Palmieri for his "thunderous, percussive piano style and bold, genre-defying compositions," and described him as a "fearless innovator who honored his Afro-Caribbean roots while pushing musical boundaries."
In addition to his Gram