Willie Colón: Best Songs

The precise moment in time when Colón begins to take salsa into uncharted territory: he adapts a children’s song from Ghana into an urban mega-hit. Funky, rambunctious, deliciously rough, it offers the perfect setting for Héctor Lavoe’s throaty vocals to shine. No wonder the older generation felt threatened by this young pair of musical outlaws.

For Asalto Navideño, the most transcendent Latin Christmas album of all time, Colón and Lavoe enlisted the authentic touch of boricua folk master Yomo Toro on the cuatro. A celebration of Panamanian folk, “La Murga” became legendary for the ragged propulsion of its trombone riffs.

Colón and Lavoe toured and recorded incessantly during the first half of the Seventies, and their music became increasingly cosmopolitan, always searching for a bigger scope. By the time he recorded The Good, The Bad, The Ugly with Lavoe, Rubén Blades and Yomo Toro, Colón’s tropical blend included rock, funk and the sounds of Brazil. He sings lead on this lovely Baden Powell cover, his casual interpretation evoking mischief and longing.

Colón was instrumental in cementing the progressive salsa sound of the late Seventies, and his production work on Lavoe’s initial solo outings gave him the chance to dream big. He reportedly hired a string section out of his own pocket for this Tite Curet Alonso gem, generating a soulful interplay between strings and brass. It may have emerged from the barrios of New York City — but at this juncture, salsa sounded as imperial as a classical symphony.

The appearance of Panamanian prodigy Rubén Blades on the New York salsa scene gave Colón the opportunity to collaborate with a songwriter of unparalleled poetic reach. An ideological manifesto, Siembra also signified the aesthetic peak of the salsa revolution — with “Pedro Navaja” its undisputed anthem. Colón’s sweet trombone layers frame the brainy references to Kafka and Bertolt Brecht, plus Blades’ irresistible existential sarcasm.

The devastating breakup of Colón’s partnership with Lavoe allowed him to develop an exquisite new sound as a solo artist: having rewritten the salsa rulebook with sterling commercial results, he was now emboldened to walk closer to the edge. This grand cover of the 1976 hit by Brazilian master Chico Buarque is laced with lush female choruses and an epic string section. This is where the salsa romántica sound begins.

Colón never hid his natural proclivity for melodrama — in fact, he showed it off wrapped up in a luxurious wall-of-sound. A cover of a Spanish song by singer/guitarist Manzanita, “Gitana” places him on the brink of Latin pop affectation, with theatrical accents on the flute and violin. To his credit, the clave remains rock solid throughout.

While most of the salsa giants experienced some form of creative exhaustion during the late Nineties, Colón continued to push the envelope. His last album for the Fania label, Top Secrets included this thoughtful Omar Alfanno composition that touches on transphobia, the AIDS epidemic and the patriarchal venom that destroyed many a life in 20th century Latin America. The elaborate salsa sinfónica backdrop adds an extra layer of poignancy.

Every icon deserves a late-career smash, and Colón got his when he decided to record this beauty of a salsa scorcher as a duet with Puerto Rican crooner Andy Montañez. A summation of his musical persona, “Idilio” boasts fiery trombone moñas and Willie’s vocals in rare form. It may follow the sugary salsa romántica vein, but it grooves like crazy.

A misguided attempt at reigniting the sacred Blades/Colón partnership, Tras La Tormenta found both legends recording their parts in separate studios. Still, the album included this joyous salsa romp — a giddy, goofy character study. Ignore the older-Latino-gentleman-in-the-room humor by composer Amílcar Boscán, and surrender instead to Colón’s hilarious interpretation, and the sharp, staccato grooves.