Willie Colón, the trombone player, bandleader, and producer who helped define the sound of salsa music, died Saturday in New York City. He was 75.
Colón’s death, confirmed by multiple news outlets, marks the loss of a pivotal figure in Latin music. Like Eddie Palmieri, who died in August 2023, Colón blended Latin rhythms with other genres, pushing the boundaries of salsa and achieving both critical acclaim and commercial success.
Born in the Bronx to Puerto Rican parents, Colón rose to prominence in the late 1960s, challenging the established norms of the New York salsa scene. He formed a band that featured his distinctive trombone playing and paired it with the powerful vocals of Héctor Lavoe. This pairing would prove to be transformative, injecting a raw energy and urban sensibility into the genre.
Colón’s contribution to the salsa explosion of the 1970s was immense. He and Lavoe released a string of seminal albums, including Asalto Navideño, a now-classic Latin Christmas album, and The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, which incorporated elements of rock, funk, and Brazilian music. Later, he collaborated with Panamanian singer-songwriter Rubén Blades, producing the landmark album Siembra, which included the iconic song “Pedro Navaja.”
Beyond his work with Lavoe and Blades, Colón was a prolific producer, working with artists such as Celia Cruz, Mon Rivera, and Ismael Miranda. He also maintained a successful solo career, releasing over 40 albums throughout his lifetime. He navigated the shift from the harder-edged “salsa dura” sound to the smoother “salsa romántica” style, continuing to tour and record until his death.
Among Colón’s most notable tracks is “Che Che Colé,” a reworking of a Ghanaian children’s song that became a massive hit, showcasing Lavoe’s vocal prowess and Colón’s innovative arrangements. “La Murga,” from Asalto Navideño, featured Yomo Toro on the cuatro and became a beloved holiday standard. “Cua Cua Ra, Cua Cua” demonstrated the cosmopolitan scope of Colón and Lavoe’s music, even as “Periódico de Ayer” highlighted Colón’s production skills, adding a lush string section to a song by Tite Curet Alonso.
His collaboration with Rubén Blades on “Pedro Navaja” represented a high point in the salsa revolution, blending poetic lyrics with Colón’s musical arrangements. Later in his career, Colón continued to experiment, as evidenced by his cover of Chico Buarque’s “Oh Qué Será?,” which incorporated lush female choruses and a sweeping string section. He also tackled socially conscious themes in songs like “El Gran Varón,” addressing transphobia and the AIDS epidemic. A duet with Andy Montañez on “Idilio” became a late-career success, and his final recording with Blades, “Talento de Televisión,” showcased his enduring musical wit.
