Willie Colón, Bronx-born of Puerto Rican grandparents, has fused his musical talent, his passion for humanity, and his community and political activism into an extraordinary, multifaceted career. His achievements in all his activities are widely recognized. As musician, composer, arranger, singer, and trombonist, as well as producer and director, Colón still holds the all time record for sales, he has created 40 productions that have sold more than thirty million records worldwide. His Asalto Navideño and his collaboration with Ruben Blades, "Siembra", are the biggest selling album of all time for this genre. International Trombone Association: "Willie Colón has probably done more than anyone since Tommy Dorsey to keep the trombone before the public. Stylistically they are poles apart, Dorsey representing an ultra-smooth approach, Colón a Hard-edged roughness reportedly inspired by Barry Rogers. Unfortunately, Colón's public is largely Latino, so his music and contribution have gone unnoticed or ignored by the general press"- Gerald Sloan, professor of music University of Arkansas2015 Billboard Magazine: named Willie Colón one of the 30 most influential Latin Artists of All Time. John Storm Roberts: Though the adulation given Colon's early recordings is fully justified, it has the unfortunate side-effect of blinding people to his equally fine recent recordings. Yet aside from the fact that he'd turned himself into an excellent and very individual singer, the recordings he made just before his political ambitions took over are by any measure outstanding. Smithsonian Books: "Willie Colón is one of the essential gods of Salsa mythology, perhaps the most essential of the entire pantheon. "AllAboutJazz. com: "Colón was to the history of Latin music what Don Drummond was to Jamaican ska and J. J. Johnson was to jazz. "New York Times: "Most rock and pop stars whose names are known in every household would be delighted with records sales of such magnitude. "Village Voice: "Willie is a gifted producer. . . a talent on the order of Quincy Jones and Stevie Wonder. . . his music moves with Ellingtonian swing and graceHis collaboration with Hector Lavoe was the milestone that spread this fusion of tropical/urban music throughout Latin America. He is a strong catalog sale artist, whose songs are included in almost every Salsa artist's repertoire. Three recent hit TV-soaps, Corazón Partido, Demasiado Corazón and Perro Amor, used his recordings/compositions as theme songs. He has also won 11 Grammy nominations, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Latin Grammy, fifteen gold and five platinum records, and has collaborated with such musical greats as the Fania All Stars, Héctor LaVoe, Rubén Blades, David Byrne, and Celia Cruz. His music, which has powerfully influenced modern Latin jazz, reflects both rhythmic traditional lyrics and the cries of farewell and hope from a new generation pressured to abandon their homeland to congregate in urban America. William Anthony Colón Román (his full name) learned the lyrics from his Abuela (grandmother) Antonia, as she rocked him to sleep during his childhood in the heart of the Puerto Rican Bronx. Her strong beliefs and personality also powerfully influenced his devotion to his cultural roots. During his musical and cultural odyssey from the Bronx to the world scene, he moved from a fascination with the tropical paradise of his ancestors to the stark street images of rebellious youth and social struggle and finally to a mature fusion of joy and injustice, beauty and suffering, romance and realism. He has become an articulate and responsible public figure -- clever at injecting political messages into his music without becoming overbearing. He has been a visiting professor and lecturer at many prestigious colleges and universities. As a community leader, he has won both local affection and national recognition. Colón, now 67, first emerged as a leader and organizer at age 16; he has since been a civil rights, community and political activist as well as Chair of the Association of Hispanic Arts, a member of the Latino Commission on AIDS, a member of the board of the United Nations Immigrant Foundation, President of the Arthur Schomburg Coalition for a Better New York, a current member of the Board of Directors of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, a founding member of the New Rochelle (NY) Hispanic Advisory Board, founding member of the New Rochelle Judicial System Committee and various other projects and organizations too numerous to mention.
