Trombone Fest At The Copa

On October 23rd of last year, during a set of the now memorable Fania All Star Concert that was labeled as The Concert of The Millennium, Salsa legend and pioneer, Willie Colón announced that he would be willing to represent the Democratic party line in the Senate Race which had been reserved by the Democratic party solely for the carpetbagger candidate and First Lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton and no one else. Seeing it as a spit in the face that Latinos we're not being represented fully or placing forth a candidate despite representing 25% of the population of New York City, and not receiving any receptive feedback from the party leaders, Willie Colón set out to do something about it.

March 14th, 2000, in front of a packed house at the Copacabana, Willie Colón made his intentions clear. Right after he was announced and was introduced, literature had been spread out to all the patrons and dancers at the Copa. The literature exposed his designs concerning the current situation with the NYS Senate Race and displayed the purpose of his establishing an Exploratory Committee dedicated to seeking out an alternative to the present candidate being offered by the Democratic Party. A throng of cheers were let out by the Copa faithful who had come to see one of Salsa's living legends do what he was famous for doing, only it was not for wailing on the Trombone and singing his best hits that they applauded, but for the realization and assurance by El Malo that if a non-New Yorker could come in and shanghai an entire electoral process, then it wasn’t unlikely that a Latino could not only run for higher office...but win!

But not even the image of a possible Latino NYS Senator candidate emanating an aura of pride could deter the crowd for wanting to see what they came to see. And in typical Willie Colón fashion, he let the crowd know he was with them and got them going by running on stage and jumping up and down to the music as soon as pianist, Ennio Gatti, started things off with a medley of classic Willie Colón hits that began with the opening chords of the all-time classic, ''Che Che Cole". Memories of yesteryear began to evoke among the crowd's imagination as they all sang along to the songs that Willie had made famous along with his former lead vocalist, the revered Hector Lavoe. The songs that followed, Barrunto, Te Conozco, and Calle Luna Calle Sol featured the Legal Alien Trombone Choir, Ozzie Melendez, Luis Bonilla, Charlie Garcia, and Peter Brainin, at their best. Following that scorching medley came the unique musical melody of a more recent hit, ''Talento De Television''. Immediately following that crowd pleaser, Willie honored the audience with the beautiful bass trumpet intro solo of ''Idilio.'' This song remains a crowd favorite and coupled with the contrapunta style made famous by Puerto Rican artists such as Daniel Santos, Davilita, and Felipe ''La Voz'' Rodriguez, one could only savor the grandeur of that beautifully arranged masterpiece.

Willie Colón and his Legal Alien Orchestra ended the first set with a return to the sound of the past. ''Intermission'', the instrumental on ''Demasiado Corazón'' the Mexican Novela Soundtrack under the same name, utilized the brass section cross-riffing each other under a Puerto Rican Bomba rhythm.

As the 2nd set began, Willie continued where he left off with the old school sound and continued the musical glory days of the 70s with a heartfelt tribute to his fallen comrade, Hector Lavoe by playing a medley of tunes made famous by Hector as a solo singer. Standard Classics like "El Cantante", and "Periodico De Ayer", echoed through the Copacabana as everyone clapped and joined Willie in unison in paying tribute to the late ''Cantante de los Cantantes''. The next song for the night featured a stirring introductory solo performance by Peter Brainin who wowed the crowd for at least 2 minutes with his musical prowess on the Sax, while the maestro, Willie Colón, joined percussionist Papo Pepin on congas and accompanied Brainin during his solo. Suddenly pianist Ennio Gatti, began playing a melodic, as well as hypnotic, intro to the classic Willie Colón anthem, ''Gitana''. Complimenting Willie's vocals was a fantastic bass solo by Gene Perez.

The stage was set for the grand finale and Willie did not dissapoint. The familiar chords of the story of a young man named Simón who is strickened with AIDS and succumbs to it began to be interpreted. ''El Gran Varón'' was one of Willie's all time hits and continues to be to this day in his long career. The sidemen we're given room to shine in this number. Luis Bonilla took a nasty trombone solo, which exemplified his stature as one of the best brass players around. Following Bonilla on the T-Bone was the magician, Pete Brainin, once again on sax. As the coro, ''No se puede corregir, a la naturaleza, palo que nace doblao', jamás su tronco endereza...'' continued to resonate from the stage and the audience, percussionist, Harry Adorno, took a mean timbal solo looking just as good as any other big name drummer. The sound of Bomba was in the air as the song reached its close and Willie Colón and his Legal Alien crew were greeted with a thunderous applause and adulation.

The night was filled with classic repertoire, memories of the past, hits that will eventually become legendary in their own right, talk of a possible new age for the NYC political scene and the involvement of Latinos in politics on a regular basis, and a showcase of one of Salsa's best brass sections anywhere. It was a night that a generation of new and old could come together and witness one of the great ones who helped shape and formulate a concept and musical movement known as Salsa. While the legendary pioneer is no longer the bad boy of salsa and has focused his energies on other community and global charities and political/grass roots organizations, once he is on stage, singing his songs and playing his machete (trombone) as only he knows how, a little bit of the Malo left in Willie Colón comes out and shares it with his public y su gente...

Que siga la Rumba!

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