1975 · Album
Unfinished Masterpiece
Recorded 1975 · Tico · Produced by Eddie Palmieri
Gadd's Pocket and Palmieri's Fire
Palmieri surrounded himself with players who could follow him into the experimental deep end without losing the groove.
The first thing you hear on Unfinished Masterpiece (1975) is Steve Gadd's drumming — tight, conversational, never overdoing it. Gadd was one of the most in-demand session drummers in New York at the time, but here he plays with restraint. He locks into Palmieri's vision instead of dominating it. That's the key to this record: it's a leader who found musicians willing to take risks with him.
Palmieri had founded La Perfecta over a decade earlier, but by 1975 he was thinking bigger. The electric piano sound — handled by Eddie Martinez — gives the album a contemporary sheen that separates it from his earlier work, but it never feels like a concession to fashion. Ron Carter on bass and Gadd on drums create a rhythm section so solid you can build anything on top of it. The horns — Ronnie Cuber on baritone, Ed Byrne and Lynn Welshman on trombone, Mike Lawrence on flugelhorn, and Jeremy Steig on flute — move in and out with intelligence, never crowding the space. This is orchestration by someone who understands economy.
The album landed on serious jazz listeners' radar, though it remains less canonical than Palmieri's Latin-funk output. What matters is that Palmieri created a setting where everyone could play at their highest level without ego getting in the way. Gadd's presence signals that: a drummer of his stature doesn't sit in with everyone, and his choice to work here tells you something about what Palmieri was building in that studio.
Who's playing
Ron Carterdouble bass
Eddie Martinezelectric piano
Ronnie Cuberbaritone saxophone
Ed Byrnetrombone
Lynn Welshmantrombone
Jeremy Steigflute
Steve Gadddrums
Mike Lawrenceflugelhorn
Where next?
More by Eddie Palmieri
All 37 albums →
The musicians on this record
Their own records, close in time
