By Steve Gorman

(Reuters) -Eddie Palmieri, a Grammy-celebrated pianist, composer and bandleader widely recognized as a leading figure in the Latin jazz and salsa music scene, died on Wednesday at his home in New Jersey, according to his Facebook page. He was 88.

No cause of death was given.

Born in the Spanish Harlem section of Upper Manhattan to Puerto Rican parents, Palmieri began studying piano as a youngster and made his musical debut performing at Carnegie Hall at age 11.

Two years later, he grew fascinated with percussion and joined his uncle’s Latin jazz orchestra on timbales at age 13, but soon switched again to piano and never looked back, according to a biography posted on AllMusic.com.

Still, his early infatuation with percussion went on to inform his dazzling, thunderous p

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