Willie Colón

Name at birth: William Anthony Colón
Date of birth: 28 April, 1950
Place of birth: New York (The Bronx)

William Anthony Colón is not only a famous composer, trombone player and  bandleader, but also a well known figure within the New York City local government, involved in municipal politics in New York City. He has been a civil rights, community and political activist from the age of 16.

Colón started to play the trumpet from an early age and later switched to trombone. During his childhood he visited many times his maternal grandparents in Puerto Rico, which are the roots of his cultural interest.

Combining elements of salsa, jazz and rock, his work incorporates the rhythms of traditional music from Puerto Rico, Cuba, Brazil and the ancestral homeland, Africa. He was signed to Fania Records already at the age of 15. The sales of his first album reached the 300,000 copies (it was recorded when he was 17 years old) and he has since continued releasing several award winning albums.

Discography:
1967    El Malo
1968    The Hustler
1969    Guisando Doing a Job
1970    Cosa Nuestra
1971    Asalto Navideño
1971    La Gran Fuga The Big Break
1972    El Juicio
1972    Asalto Navideño Vol.2
1973    Lo Mato
1973    Crime Pays
1974    Willie
1975    Se Chavó el Vecindario! There Goes the Neighborhood [Date]    [Name of
1976    The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
1977    Metiendo Mano!!
1977    Sólo Ellos Pudieron Hacer Éste Álbum
1978    47 minutes
1978    Siembra
1979    Solo
1980    Doble Energía
1981    Canciónes del Solar de los Aburridos
1981    Celia & Willie
1981    Fantasmas
1982    The Last Fight
1983    Vigilante
1983    Criollo
1984    Tiempo pa’ Matar
1985    Contrabando Especial No 5
1987    Los Triunfadores The winners
1989    Top Secrets / Legal Alien
1990    Color Americano
1991    Honra y Cultura
1993    Willie Colón & Tito Puente
1993    Hecho en Puerto Rico
1994    Bad Boys 2
1994     The Best Vol.2
1995    Tras la Tormenta
1995    Y Vuelve Otra Vez!!!
1998    Demasiado Corazón
1999    Quien Eres
2000    Idilio
2000    Guerrero de Corazón
2004    Experiencia
2007    The Player
2008    El Malo Vol II. Prisioneros del Mambo
2008    Asalto Navideño Live/En Vivo
 

by Zsuzsa Melkvi
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About the Author: Zsuzsa Melkvi is a salsa dancer and teacher, having competed in Latin-American and Standard dances from 1995-1998. She is also the founder of Baila Cuba (www.bailacuba.hu), a Dance company focused on giving exclusively pure Afro-Cuban workshops in Hungary. Zsuzsa holds a BA degree in Economics from the University of Hertfordshire.