Following the loss of one of our community’s most beloved artists, Adrian Allen for The National Weekly remembers the wonderful legacy of Hugh “Cuban” Palmer.
When you enter any live event here in South Florida, you will hear the trumping sounds of artists performing on stage. These sounds are usually mixed and engineered by a man we know as Hugh Augustus “Cuban” Palmer. Born and raised in Jamaica, Palmer was his mother’s first child and his father’s third child. Palmer attended St. Andrew Technical high School and after graduating started working with his sister at an auto shop. He then married Rosemarie Blake who brought into this world two beautiful children Dinakaye Orlena and Locksley Palmer. Hugh went on to start his musical engineering career at Music Works.
The Grammy award winner, teacher, and father to many had an ear like no other. Individuals within the entertainment business leaned on his creative genius to deliver the best results for great sound we all have enjoyed throughout the years. Whether at a live event or on a mixed and mastered record, Palmer took his work very seriously and had a compassionate presence towards others, always willing to help solve problems and inspire individuals around him.
Within the South Florida community, Palmer worked closely with artists such as The Gardens (formerly known as Top Hop) Shomax, Bunny Gemini (Record Factory label), Garfield of Nature Way Entertainment, Fattis (Exterminator label), Sly and Robbie’s engineer at Sonic Sounds, and Danny Breakenridge, just to name a few. Palmer also launched his own label Zee Pee Records with his partner Vahn Zelly Facey.
Hugh Augustus Palmer’s life will be remembered and celebrated on September 16th at the Baird-Case Funeral Home Chapel. Organizers are asking to wear bright colors, no black please, in honor of this true music man.
Thank you Palmer for making everything sound so much better!
