Spike Lee’s newest collaboration with Denzel Washington, Highest 2 Lowest, weaves music straight into the plot—and the most unforgettable beat comes from the late Eddie Palmieri.
The Latin jazz and salsa icon, who died on August 6 at the age of 88 after an extended illness, appears in the film’s Puerto Rican Day Parade sequence in the Bronx, leading his salsa orchestra during a truly live performance alongside a ransom drop.
Lee told Entertainment Weekly he never viewed it as a simple cameo. “I would not say that’s a cameo, that’s a starring role,” Lee said, calling the day “joyous.”
He added that the music was captured live: “It was filmed live. We did five or six takes. We had to get different angles.” Of Palmieri’s presence, Lee said, “He was in his 80s, but he had more energy than me that day. The crowd loved him. It was a blessing.”
Palmieri’s scene is introduced by Rosie Perez and Anthony Ramos, connecting the film to New York’s Puerto Rican heritage. It marks the musician’s last on-screen appearance and extends his connection to Lee’s work.
Palmieri previously soundtracked an episode of Lee’s Netflix series She’s Gotta Have It in 2019, and he cut two new tracks—“Da Lowdown” and “Puerto Rico”—for Highest 2 Lowest’s soundtrack, which features A$AP Rocky and Jensen McRae.
Highest 2 Lowest is a reinterpretation of Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low (itself adapted from Evan Hunter’s novel King’s Ransom, which was written under his nom de plume, Ed McBain). Washington stars as David King, a music executive scrambling to keep his label alive while navigating a kidnapping scheme involving his son. The film opened in select theaters on August 15 and premieres on September 5 on Apple TV+.
Beyond the film set, Palmieri’s accomplishments underscore why his appearance matters. The NEA named him a Jazz Master in 2013; the Latin Recording Academy honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Award; and in 1975, he became the first Latino artist to win a Grammy, ultimately collecting eight across a catalog that helped define salsa, Latin jazz, and Afro-Caribbean music.