Eddie Palmieri, the bold and boundary-pushing musician who transformed Latin jazz and salsa, has died at 88. His daughter Gabriela Palmieri told The New York Times he died Wednesday at his home in New Jersey after a long illness.

Palmieri was celebrated for his explosive playing, genre-bending compositions, and deep roots in both jazz and Afro-Caribbean music. He was the first Latino to win a Grammy Award—earning the honor in 1975 for The Sun of Latin Music —and went on to collect seven more, along with near-universal admiration for his role in shaping Latin music worldwide.

The backstory:

Born in Spanish Harlem on Dec. 15, 1936, Palmieri grew up surrounded by rhythm. Like his older brother Charlie Palmieri, he began playing piano as a child, but briefly switched to timbales before

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