El Malo

Willie Colón’s runaway success as a salsa star in the 1970s often obscures his origins as a teenage boogaloo hopeful back when he recorded his 1967 debut, El Malo. Only 16 at the time, Colón already demonstrated his potential as both trombonist and bandleader, especially on the album’s best songs like “Jazzy,” an instrumental Latin jazz gem, and “Skinny Papa,” an obvious “answer song” to Tito Puente’s 1966 boogaloo hit, “Fat Mama.” The latter also features vocals from a 21 year old Héctor Lavoe, marking the first partnership between the singer and Colón that would end up spanning over a dozen LPs.