Latin Jazz great Eddie Palmieri, winner of ten Grammy Awards for his music over the last fifty years, first graced us with a song before we talked expressively about his years of music making with his brother, also a jazz master, and a virtual who’s who of artists and band leaders on thousands of the world’s stages. Eddie’s folksy engagement with audiences has endeared him to millions over five decades, while his music has touched many more on every continent. Speaking to me on the stage of the Miller Theater at Columbia University, Eddie Palmieri considered his upbringing in both Puerto Rico and the Upper East Side of Manhattan, the many years he spent writing songs and albums in the 60s and 70s alongside a host of big-band sound makers in the Latin Music genre, and the many groundbreaking collaborations he has enjoyed fusing his unique jazz sound with others.