Eddie Palmieri’s 1971 masterpiece ‘Vámonos pa’l monte’ returns to vinyl

William Brown | February 3, 2026 | Release | No Comments

Craft Latino is paying a high-fidelity tribute to the immense legacy of the late pianist, composer, and bandleader Eddie Palmieri with a comprehensive reissue of his 1971 definitive work, Vámonos pa’l monte. Long regarded as a foundational pillar in both the Latin jazz and progressive salsa canons, the album has been out of print for years but returns to its original format on March 20th. This reissue is meticulously crafted for audiophiles, featuring all-analogue (AAA) mastering sourced directly from the original tapes and pressed onto 180-gram vinyl. The release is housed in a faithful replica of the original Tico Records jacket, and for dedicated collectors, a strictly limited “Barro & Humo” colour pressing of only 300 copies is available through Fania.com, alongside a commemorative Tico Records apparel line. Furthermore, the album has been optimised for the digital age, with remastered standard and HD digital audio now accessible across all major streaming services.

Palmieri, an eight-time Grammy winner and NEA Jazz Master who passed away in August 2025, was a visionary whose percussive piano style and innovative arrangements forever altered the course of Afro-Cuban music. Born in New York to Puerto Rican parents, he transitioned from a sideman in Tito Rodríguez’s orchestra to a radical bandleader in his own right. After nearly a decade of success with his ensemble Conjunto La Perfecta, Palmieri entered a highly experimental phase in the late 1960s. This period of creative searching culminated in Vámonos pa’l monte, a record that saw him stripping away the traditional big-band structures in favour of smaller, more aggressive, and stylistically fluid groups.

The album is a masterclass in what became known as progressive salsa, a movement Palmieri helped pioneer by weaving unconventional sonic textures into the rhythmic fabric of the genre. He expanded the standard salsa palette by incorporating Ronnie Cuber’s baritone saxophone, Nicky Marrero’s jazz-influenced drum kit, and an electric piano that Palmieri himself played with his signature physical intensity. His brother, Charlie Palmieri, added a further layer of depth on the organ, creating a unique keyboard-driven sound that was rare for the era. This instrumental diversity allowed Palmieri to bridge several worlds, effortlessly blending elements of funky fusion, boogaloo, and charanga with the sophisticated harmonies of jazz.

Beyond its technical brilliance, Vámonos pa’l monte is celebrated for its profound socio-political resonance. The opening track, “Revolt/Libertad lógico,” serves as an avant-garde anthem for liberation, utilising sharp horn arrangements and a driving snare drum intended to evoke the sound of a machine gun—a bold, nonconformist statement reflecting the turbulent energy of the early 1970s. The title track remains equally influential, featuring a hypnotic seven-minute groove and a storied “keyboard conversation” between the Palmieri brothers. As former La Perfecta vocalist Ismael Quintana once noted, the lyrics were a call to escape the negativity and injustice of urban life for the sanctuary of the mountains. Today, the album remains a “visceral masterpiece” as hailed by the New York Times, standing as a testament to Palmieri’s role as one of the great musical masterminds of the 20th century.