Eddie Palmieri Latin Jazz Band

Santana jamming with that little tart Michelle Branch is cool and all, but no discussion of the interface between Latin music and American pop is complete without bowing before Eddie Palmieri. The pianist and bandleader has gotta be the reason why lonely suburbanites try to pick each other up at their weekly salsa lessons. Palmieri has released a gazillion records since the early '60s; his 2007 disc with trumpeter Brian Lynch, titled Simpático, fetched him yet another Grammy. For the uninitiated, however, check out the 1967 chestnut Molasses. Its horn-laden fusion of jazz, salsa, soul, and boogaloo (the auxiliary percussion on "Bomboncito de Pozo" will slay you) helped establish a cultural identity for Puerto Rican musicians in the '70s. Granted, Branch ain't on it, but it's still a funky jam. JUSTIN F. FARRAR

Listen to a sample of Eddie Palmieri Latin Jazz Band's "In Flight."