Washington, Feb. 22 -- Salsa pioneer Willie Colon, the towering trombonist, arranger, composer and producer who helped define the sound of Latin music in the 1970s, died on Saturday. He was 75.

His death was confirmed by his longtime manager, Pietro Carlos, in a Facebook post. "Willie didn't just change salsa," Carlos wrote, adding, "He expanded it, politicized it, clothed it in urban chronicles and took it to stages where it hadn't been before. His trombone was the voice of the people."

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Born William Anthony Colon Roman in New York to Puerto Rican parents, Colon rose from a tough upbringing in the South Bronx to become one of the most i...