Willie Colón, a Luminary of Salsa Music, Dies at 75
The New York Times • • entertainment
Key Points:
- Willie Colón, a renowned trombonist, singer, bandleader, composer, and producer known as “El Malo,” passed away at the age of 75.
- He was a key figure in New York salsa music and gained widespread acclaim for his 1978 collaboration with Rubén Blades on the album “Siembra,” one of the best-selling salsa albums ever.
- Raised in the South Bronx by his Puerto Rican grandmother, Colón displayed exceptional trombone skills from a young age and began his professional career in his early teens.
- Emerging in the mid-1960s, he was part of the evolving salsa genre, which fused traditional Latin rhythms with American pop, funk, rock, R&B, and jazz
