EDDIE PALMIERI & LALO RODRIGUEZ Mi Dia Bonito – Historic Reunion of Salsa Legends! at Lehman Center at Lehman Center for the Performing Arts

Lehman Center for the Performing Arts and GOYA FOODS presents Mi Dia Bonito, a historic reunion after 40 years of salsa legends EDDIE PALMIERI &LALO RODRIGUEZ on Saturday, November 10th, 2018 at 8pm. Ten-time Grammy ® Award winner EDDIE PALMIERI reunites with LALO RODRIGUEZ for a spectacular evening of classic salsa with songs such as “Un Dia Bonito”, “Nada De Ti”, “Nunca Contigo”, and “Oye Lo Que Te Conviene”. Also appearing: Opening act tribute to Charlie Palmieri by the UPRISING ALL STARS featuring HERMÁN OLIVERA under the direction of JIMMY BOSCH. Produced by Lehman Center and Leo Tizol.
This concert continues the completion of the first phase of renovations at Lehman Center for the Performing Arts. Concert goers will find that the lobbies have been upgraded for ADA compliance with new ramps and carpeting, and the interior of the theater will have new seating, carpeted aisles, and finished flooring as well. The $15.4 million dollar refurbishment of the Center, which is expected to be completed by mid-2019, will also include 5,400 square feet of enlarged space, with a new main entrance and a redesigned box office, plus new administration offices and restroom facilities on the first and mezzanine floors, and an elevator. The Center seats 2,278 people in the concert hall and is the largest of its kind in the borough. Funding for the project is being provided by the Office of the Governor, the New York State Legislature, the Bronx delegation of the New York City Council, and the Office of the Bronx Borough President. Additional funding is being raised with a seat naming initiative, which allows community members to make a personal connection with one of New York City’s most important not-for-profit entertainment venues.
Lehman Center for the Performing Arts is on the campus of Lehman College/CUNY at 250 Bedford Park Boulevard West, Bronx, NY 10468. Tickets for EDDIE PALMIERI & LALO RODRIGUEZ on Saturday, November 10th, 2018 at 8pm are VIP $100, $85, $75, $55, and can be purchased by calling the Lehman Center box office at 718-960-8833 (Monday through Friday, 10am–5pm, and beginning at 4pm on the day of the concert), or through online access at www.LehmanCenter.org. *VIP Reception: The Havana Café, Goya Foods and Lehman Center special VIP pre-concert wine & hors d’oeuvres reception will start at 6:30pm. VIP tickets include the reception and the best seats in the house. Sponsored by Havana Café Restaurant and Goya Foods. Lehman Center is accessible by #4 or D train to Bedford Park Blvd. and is off the Saw Mill River Parkway and the Major Deegan Expressway. Low-cost on-site parking available for $5.
EDDIE PALMIERI, known for his charismatic power and bold innovative drive, has a musical career that spans over 50 years as a pianist, composer and bandleader of Salsa and Latin jazz orchestras. The Honorary Doctor of Music from Berklee College of Music has been awarded ten Grammy Awards and was honored with the 2013 National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Award. His recordings have become classics with such hits as “Muñeca,” “Vamonos Pa’l Monte,”“Puerto Rico,” and “Azucar Pa’ Ti” which has been included in the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress. Born in Spanish Harlem, he started piano studies at an early age and began his career as a pianist in the ‘50s with Eddie Forrester’s Orchestra. He spent a year with Tito Rodriguez before forming the legendary Conjunto La Perfecta in 1961. With an infectous sound, Palmieri’s band soon joined the ranks of Machito, Tito Puente, Tito Rodriguez and other leading orchestras of the day. His discography includes over 36 titles, of which nine have received Grammy Awards, including Best Latin Album for The Sun of Latin Music (1975), Unfinished Masterpiece (1976), Palo Pa’ Rumba (1984), Solito (1985) and La Verdad (1987). He received both a Grammy and a Latin Grammy award for Obra Maestra/Masterpiece (2000) with Tito Puente, the Best Latin Jazz Album Grammy Awards for Listen Here! (2006), and Simpatico (2007), a collaborative effort with trumpet master Brian Lynch. His April 2017 album Sabiduria/Wisdom, a fusion of jazz, funk and Latin with Afro-world rhythms, had its World Premiere at Lehman Center for the Performing Arts in 2013. Also in 2013, Palmieri was honored with the NEA Jazz Master Award and the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences’ Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2015, he released a new big band version of his classic composition Vámonos P’ai Monte, along with the first ever studio recording of another popular Palmieri original Pa’ La Ocha Tambo. Palmieri continues to innovate, releasing the album Full Circle in July, 2018 that contains fresh renditions of eight classic salsa tracks featuring a stunning group of guest musicians including Brian Lynch, Conrad Herwig, “Little” Johnny Rivera, and Luques Curtis. In early December, Eddie Palmieri will release his second album of the year, Mi Luz Mayor, which features special guest artists Gilberto Santa Rosa, Hermán Olivera, and Carlos Santana. The album, which took four years to complete, is dedicated to Palmieri’s late wife Iraida, and contains new recordings of the songs that they enjoyed together.
LALO RODRIGUEZ, is one of the most internationally recognized Latin artists of the last four decades. A prolific singer, songwriter, composer and producer, he has sold millions of records and has been honored with numerous awards, including two Grammys, Premio Lo Nuestro and Latin Billboard Music Awards. Known for his charismatic stage presence, Rodriguez was born in 1958 in Santurce, Puerto Rico and began singing when he was twelve years old. Revered as the “Pride of Puerto Rico”, he made his recording debut at age 16 as the lead singer and composer of “Deseo Salvaje” on Eddie Palmiere’s The Sun of Latin Music (1974), the first Latin album to win a Grammy Award. In 1976, Rodriguez was the featured vocalist on the classic Eddie Palmiere Orchestra recording Unfinished Masterpiece, which also garnered a Grammy Award. That same year his finely tuned voice was showcased with the Tommy Olivencia Orchestra on the Diplo Award-winning Introducing Lalo Rodriguez and Simón Pérez, which also included his compositions “Vengo Del Monte”, “Montuno Sabroso” and “Hoy No Me Recuerdas”. In 1977, he appeared as co-lead singer and composer of three powerful, yet sensitive tunes, “Mi Ritmo Llego”, “Desilucion” and “Guaguanco a Mexico” on Machito’s Grammy nominated album Fireworks. Lalo performed and recorded with the Puerto Rico All Stars from 1977 through 1979, composing the Grammy-nominated songs “Alianza De Generales” and “Oyelo Que Te Conviene”. Going solo in 1980, he won the Diplo Award for Singer of the Year, releasing his first album Simplemente…Lalo which remains his most famous, having launched a new era in Puerto Rican salsa and featured the hit “Tu No Sabes Querer”. Rodriguez had two additional popular salsa records in the 1980’s before releasing his number one Billboard chart topping album Un Nuevo Despertar in 1988. Recorded in the salsa romántica style, this record featured the now classic songs “Si, Te Menti,” “Despues De Hacer El Amor” and his famous smash hit “Ven Devórame Otra Vez” which was awarded “Tropical Song of the Year” at the Lo Nuestro Awards in 1989. Lalo has continued to record and perform and has just completed a new album of eleven original compositions recorded in the style of traditional salsa with a large orchestra and chorus.
The UPRISING ALL STARS are made up of leading players from multiple world-wide musical genres that range from Jazz and Latin Jazz, to Salsa and Flamenco, to Hip-Hop, Rock and R&B. Under the guidance of living legends like EddiePalmieri, Bernard “Pretty” Purdie, Herman Olivera, Jimmy Bosch, Little Johnny, Doug Beavers, Jonathan Powell, and Luques Curtis, the All-Stars unite to become re-adjusters of music, infusing them with musical influences from around the globe.
Lehman Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. is supported, in part, with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the New York City Council. The 2018-2019 Season is also made possible through the sponsorships by Goya Foods, TD Bank, Con Edison, the New Yankee Stadium Community Benefits Fund, the Rudin Foundation, the Hyde and Watson Foundation, Havana Café, and the Friends of Lehman Center.