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Willie Colón and Hector Lavoe’s La Gran Fuga (The Big Break) Returns to Vinyl
Los Angeles, CA (February 13, 2024) – Craft Latino announces a vinyl reissue of 1970’s La Gran Fuga (The Big Break), the Gold-certified sixth collaboration between the legendary duo of trombonist, composer and musical director Willie Colón and famed singer Héctor Lavoe. Set for release on April 12 and available for pre-order today, La Gran Fuga features such classics as “Barrunto,” “Pa’ Colombia” and “Abuelita”—all newly remastered, featuring (AAA) lacquers cut from the original master tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio and pressed on 180-gram vinyl. Rounding out the package is a classic tip-on jacket and, as an added bonus, an 11” x 22” insert featuring the album’s iconic “Wanted” poster. La Gran Fuga will also make its debut in 192/24 hi-res digital audio on April 12. In addition, a Salt ‘n’ Peppa deluxe color vinyl exclusive with an exciting bundle option that includes a limited-edition La Gran Fuga T-shirt featuring the iconic album cover art is available for pre-order at Fania.com.
![Willie Colon and Hector Lavoe: La Gran Fuga [album cover]](https://i0.wp.com/latinjazznet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Willie-Colon-La-Gran-Fuga-740.jpg?resize=740%2C740&ssl=1)
One of Latin music’s most formidable duos, salsa pioneers Willie Colón and Héctor Lavoe were teenagers when they began working together under Fania Records. Known as “El Cantante,” Lavoe (1946–1993) was one of the great interpreters of salsa music, revered for his bright vocals, seamless phrasing and witty, ad-libbed anecdotes. Colón (b. 1950), meanwhile, quickly became a key figure in the scene, who shaped the sound of salsa on and off stage as a trombonist, composer, producer and leader of his namesake orchestra. Together, Colón and Lavoe defined one of Latin music’s most exciting eras through 11 legendary albums, beginning with the 1967 salsa and boogaloo classic, El Malo.
By the turn of the ’70s, the duo was maturing into their signature sound—and enjoying the success of their first Gold-certified LP, Cosa Nuestra (1969). A year later, they followed with the confident La Gran Fuga (The Big Break), which found the two musicians entering a new era of unparalleled creativity and commercial achievement. In a review of the album, journalist Ernesto Lechner (Rolling Stone,Billboard, NPR) calls La Gran Fuga a “masterpiece of Latin music, the kind of formidable artistic statement that established the Fania label as a cultural icon—going beyond the parameters of a company specializing in crowd-pleasing dance music.” He adds, “Most importantly, the songs of The Big Break evoke the duo’s combined cosmovision, which regards life as a combination of reckless joy and profound tragedy.”
Overseen by the great Johnny Pacheco, who served as recording director, the duo is joined by a talented line-up of musicians, including such celebrated percussionists as Milton Cardona (congas), Louie “Timbalito” Romero (timbales), and José Mangual (bongos), plus pianist Professor Joe Torres, second trombonist Willie Campbell and bassist Santi Gonzalez. Together, they push the boundaries of salsa music with a diverse array of numbers, including dance-floor classics like “Barrunto,” “Pa’ Colombia” and “Abuelita” (in which Lavoe affectionately—and hilariously—recalls his grandmother’s sayings). The group also incorporates African musical traditions in the joyful opener “Ghana’ E” and draws from Puerto Rican folklore in the nearly six-minute-long “Panameña,” while Lavoe shines in the emotive ballad “No Cambiaré.”
Released in 1970, La Gran Fuga offered one of Colón and Lavoe’s most iconic album covers, in which designer Izzy Sanabria took inspiration from Colón’s “Malo” alter-ego, creating an FBI wanted poster, with the bandleader’s mugshot. In this case, however, “FBI” stood for “Freaks of Bureau Investigation.” After promotional posters were spotted throughout New York City, however, the real FBI requested that the “Wanted by FBI” text be removed. Despite the controversy, La Gran Fuga proved to be an enormous success for the duo, earning them their second Gold certification by the RIAA and plenty of accolades.
In a retrospective review, Jazz Music Archives gave the album five stars, declaring it “essential music,” while AllMusic praised, “Willie Colón and his partner in crime Héctor Lavoe showcased not only confidence but a surprising flexibility and independence.” Vibe, meanwhile, noted that La Gran Fuga “helped crystalize the cultural iconicity of Fania Records,” adding that it “remains a shining emblem of the famed Colón/Hector Lavoe musical aesthetic.”
Colón and Lavoe would go on to release five more albums together, including such best-selling titles as El Jucio (1972), Lo Mato (1973) and the beloved Christmas classics Asalto Navideño Vols. 1 & 2 (1971 and 1972, respectively) with Yomo Toro. While they would each embark on solo projects in the mid-’70s, Colón would serve as producer for many of Lavoe’s most successful releases.
Reflecting on the album, Lechner adds, “Listening to these eight, timeless tracks decades after their original release, the music compels you to ask: How could two young men in their 20s have so much to say? How did they manage to record an album of such depth and beauty? It may be advisable to stop pondering such heady issues and enjoy the music instead. I know I will.”
Click here to pre-order La Gran Fuga (The Big Break)
Click here to find the exclusive bundle including the Salt ‘n’ Peppa deluxe blend color vinyl with the limited-edition La Gran Fuga T-shirt
La Gran Fuga/The Big Break tracklist (vinyl)
Side A: 1. Ghana’ E; 2. Pa’ Colombia; 3. No Cambiaré; 4. Sigue Feliz.
Side B: 1. Barrunto; 2. Abuelita; 3. Panameña; 4. Canción Para Mi Suegra
*Digital album tracklist mirrors the vinyl
About Fania:
Highly influential, both musically and culturally,?Fania?Records spread the sound of salsa music from the clubs of New York City to the rest of the world and became a revered global brand in the process.?Fania’s master recording catalog is the definitive home for genres such as Latin big band, Afro-Cuban jazz, boogaloo, salsa and Latin R&B and includes artistic giants such as Celia Cruz, Willie Colón, Héctor Lavoe and Rubén Blades. With the creation of the international supergroup known as the?Fania?All-Stars, the label’s signature musical style became known as the “Fania?Sound.”?Fania’s rich master catalog also includes the Pete Rodriguez’s boogaloo classic “I Like It Like That” which was sampled by Cardi B in her #1 hit “I Like It.” Additionally, three Fania Recordings, Celia & Johnny by Celia Cruz and Johnny Pacheco,?Azucar Pa’ Ti?by Eddie Palmieri and?Live at Yankee Stadium?by the?Fania?All-Stars, appear in the National Recording Registry, a list of sound recordings that “are culturally, historically or aesthetically important, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States.” For more info, visit Fania.com and follow on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
About Craft Latino:
Craft Latino is home to one of the largest and most prestigious collections of Latin music master recordings and compositions in the world. Its rich and storied repertoire includes legendary artists such as Antonio Aguilar, Joan Sebastian, Pepe Aguilar, Celia Cruz, Héctor Lavoe, Willie Colón, Ray Barretto, La Lupe, Ruben Blades and the Fania All Stars, to name just a few. Renowned imprints with catalogs issued under the Craft banner include Musart, Fania, TH, Panart, West Side Latino and Kubaney, among many others. Craft creates thoughtfully curated packages, with a meticulous devotion to quality and a commitment to preservation, ensuring that these recordings endure for new generations to discover.
Craft Latino is the Latin repertoire arm of Craft Recordings. The catalog label team for Concord. For more info, visit CraftRecordings.com.
Brazilian mandolin virtuoso Hamilton de Holanda opens a new creative chapter with Nova, a wide-ranging album that brings the traditions of Brazilian instrumental music into conversation with contemporary jazz and sounds from Africa, India, the Caribbean and the Middle East.
Released by Sony Music Brasil on May 20, 2026, the 14-track, 56-minute recording was produced by de Holanda and Marcos Portinari. Recorded in different parts of the world, Nova draws inspiration from the people, places and musical encounters that have marked de Holanda’s extensive travels.
At the heart of the album is the Hamilton de Holanda Trio: de Holanda on 10-string mandolin, Salomão Soares on keyboards and synthesizers, and Thiago “Big” Rabello on drums. Their six-year musical partnership gives the project its central identity, balancing rhythmic precision, melodic freedom and intuitive ensemble interaction.
The trio is joined by an impressive international cast that includes Indian sitarist Anoushka Shankar, French-Lebanese trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf, Cuban percussionist and vocalist Pedrito Martínez, Angolan singer-songwriter Paulo Flores and Brazilian percussion legend Paulinho da Costa. Other guests include Pedro Martins, Michael Pipoquinha, Pretinho da Serrinha, Mestra Zélia do Prato and Larissa Umaytá.
Opening with “Nova Alvorada,” the album imagines a new dawn rooted in African and Afro-Brazilian traditions. Pedrito Martínez contributes vocals and percussion, Michael Pipoquinha adds electric bass, and singers Tatiana Parra, Vanessa Moreno and Dani Gurgel form the supporting chorus.
Elsewhere, “Som de Baile” channels the energy of Brazilian dance bands, drawing upon the spirit of Banda Black Rio, Jorge Ben Jor and Gilberto Gil. “Frio Lá Fora,” composed during a bitterly cold stay in New York, features Maalouf and Pretinho da Serrinha, while “Pras Crianças” combines an ijexá-based foundation with the resonant sound of Shankar’s sitar. “Luanda (Unidos)” creates a bridge to Angolan semba through the voice and text of Paulo Flores.
Among the album’s most reflective compositions is “Mono no Aware,” which has received an official visualizer. Written by de Holanda and Soares, its title comes from a Japanese expression describing an awareness of life’s impermanence—and the realization that beauty becomes more meaningful because it is temporary.
Recorded at producer and engineer Mario Caldato Jr.’s Los Angeles studio, the piece features Paulinho da Costa on percussion and Pedro Martins on guitar alongside the trio. The gathering connects three generations of Brazilian musicians in a performance that is sophisticated, spacious and emotionally restrained.
The visualizer complements the composition’s contemplative character through imagery evoking delicacy, transition and constant transformation. Rather than presenting a literal storyline, it creates an intimate visual environment in which the music’s mixture of quiet joy and underlying sadness can unfold. The official visualizer is available through Hamilton de Holanda’s YouTube channel.
Now entering his sixth decade, de Holanda remains one of Brazilian instrumental music’s most innovative figures. By expanding the traditional eight-string bandolim into a 10-string instrument, he developed a broader harmonic and melodic vocabulary that has allowed him to move naturally among choro, samba, jazz and global musical traditions.
With Nova, that spirit of invention is guided by gratitude, generosity and an enduring belief in music’s ability to connect people. Tradition and experimentation are not treated as opposites; they become complementary parts of a living musical language.
As de Holanda explains, creating original music with such an extraordinary community of artists is his way of affirming that, regardless of the world’s uncertainties, “the music will continue.”
Nova — Complete Track Listing
1. Nova Alvorada — Hamilton de Holanda
2. Presente pra Sempre — Hamilton de Holanda
3. Nasci — Hamilton de Holanda
4. Som de Baile — Hamilton de Holanda
5. Mono no Aware — Hamilton de Holanda and Salomão Soares
6. Frio Lá Fora — Hamilton de Holanda and Gabriel de Holanda
7. Carrossel — Hamilton de Holanda and Gabriel de Holanda
8. Pras Crianças — Hamilton de Holanda
9. Luanda (Unidos) — Hamilton de Holanda
10. Por Essa Eu Não Esperava — Hamilton de Holanda and Gabriel de Holanda
11. Forrozin de Mestra Zélia — Hamilton de Holanda
12. Choro Fado — Hamilton de Holanda
13. Sol da Noite — Hamilton de Holanda
14. Até Amanhã — Hamilton de Holanda and Salomão Soares
Album Credits
Hamilton de Holanda Trio
Hamilton de Holanda: 10-string mandolin
Salomão Soares: keyboards, synthesizers and Moog
Thiago “Big” Rabello: drums and percussion
Guest Artists and Additional Musicians
“Nova Alvorada”
Pedrito Martínez — percussion and vocals
Michael Pipoquinha — bass
Tatiana Parra — backing vocals
Vanessa Moreno — backing vocals
Dani Gurgel — backing vocals
“Nasci”
Eduardo Neves — tenor saxophone
Aquiles Moraes — trumpet
Rafael Rocha — trombone and horn arrangement
“Som de Baile”
Eduardo Neves — tenor saxophone
Aquiles Moraes — trumpet
Rafael Rocha — trombone and horn arrangement
Larissa Umaytá — percussion
“Mono no Aware”
Paulinho da Costa — percussion
Pedro Martins — guitar
“Frio Lá Fora”
Ibrahim Maalouf — trumpet
Pretinho da Serrinha — percussion
“Pras Crianças”
Anoushka Shankar — sitar
Leander Motta — moringa percussion
“Luanda (Unidos)”
Paulo Flores — voice and spoken text
“Forrozin de Mestra Zélia”
Mestra Zélia do Prato — voice
Production
Producers: Hamilton de Holanda and Marcos Portinari
Executive producer and editing engineer: Marcos Portinari
Assistant producer: Fellipe Cabral
Mixing: Thiago Rabello and Da Pá Virada
Mastering: André Dias
Assistant engineer: Vitor Nery
Photography: Nando Chagas
Label: Sony Music Brasil
Release date: May 20, 2026
Format: Digital album
Duration: Approximately 56 minutes
Craft Latino will reissue Willie Colón and Héctor Lavoe’s landmark 1969 album, Cosa Nuestra, on September 25, bringing one of salsa’s most influential recordings back to vinyl and CD. The new edition pays tribute to the late Willie Colón while celebrating an album that helped define the sound, image, and cultural force of New York salsa.
The vinyl edition has been mastered entirely in the analog domain and pressed on 180-gram vinyl. A limited Metallic Blue pressing, restricted to 300 copies, will also be available through Fania, either separately or bundled with a retro-logo T-shirt. A newly remastered version of the album is already available on digital platforms in standard and high-resolution audio.
Colón and Lavoe began working together in the mid-1960s after meeting at Fania Records. Colón was only 16, while Lavoe was 21. Their 1967 debut, El Malo, introduced an unusually compelling partnership: Colón’s raw, trombone-driven arrangements combined with Lavoe’s distinctive phrasing, streetwise personality, and exceptional command of the sonero tradition.
Following The Hustler and Guisando, the duo moved beyond the boogaloo sound that dominated much of the era and began developing the tougher, more sophisticated musical language that would become closely associated with salsa. Their fourth album, Cosa Nuestra—“Our Thing”—marked the moment when all the elements came together.
The album’s now-iconic cover reinforced the gangster imagery established on their earlier recordings, portraying Colón as a mobster preparing to dispose of a body near the Hudson River. The theatrical concept was more than a marketing device. It reflected the rebellious identity, urban atmosphere, and youthful attitude that made Colón and Lavoe central figures in the emerging Nuyorican music scene.
Produced by Jerry Masucci and overseen by Fania co-founder Johnny Pacheco, Cosa Nuestra introduced a revitalized ensemble featuring trombonist Eric Matos, timbalero Little Louie Romero, conguero Milton Cardona, bongó player José Mangual Jr., bassist Santi González, and pianist Professor Joe Torres.
Its songs offered vivid portraits of barrio life, betrayal, romantic disappointment, and everyday conflict. “Te conozco” focuses on a familiar neighbourhood freeloader, while “Tú no puedes conmigo” addresses the sting of a friend’s disloyalty. “Juana Peña” tells the story of a woman known for deceiving her lovers who eventually experiences heartbreak herself.
The bolero-son “Ausencia” gives Lavoe one of the album’s most emotionally resonant performances, expressing the anguish of a man unable to escape the memory of a failed relationship. In contrast, “Sonero mayor” celebrates improvisation and the art of soneo, one of Lavoe’s defining gifts.
The album’s greatest commercial success came with “Ché ché colé,” inspired by an African children’s game. Blending African and Caribbean rhythmic traditions, the infectious recording reached an international audience, helped propel Colón and Lavoe to stardom, and contributed to Cosa Nuestra becoming their first gold-selling album in the United States.
More than five decades later, Cosa Nuestra remains a cornerstone of salsa. Its combination of musical sophistication, Afro-Caribbean roots, urban storytelling, and unmistakable New York attitude established a model that shaped the genre throughout the 1970s. This reissue offers longtime admirers and new listeners an opportunity to rediscover the album in a format worthy of its enduring historical importance. Pre-Order Now!
Craft Latino is celebrating the legacy of Puerto Rican singer and composer Chamaco Ramírez with the first vinyl reissue of Alive and Kicking, his acclaimed 1979 solo debut. Originally released by Inca Records and unavailable on vinyl for more than 45 years, the album will return on September 18, 2026, in conjunction with the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month.
Although Alive and Kicking was Ramírez’s only album as a solo artist, the nine-song recording remains a powerful demonstration of his talents as a sonero, songwriter and bandleader. The album includes enduring favourites such as “San Agustín,” “Adivínalo” and “Así son Bongó,” supported by an exceptional ensemble of musicians from the New York salsa scene.
The new 180-gram pressing was produced using an all-analog process. Dave Polster and Clint Holley of Well Made Music cut the lacquers directly from the original master tapes, preserving the energy and clarity of Ramírez’s voice and the album’s richly arranged instrumentation. A limited-edition Rumba Amarilla pressing, restricted to 300 copies, will also be available through Fania, either separately or as part of a bundle with a collectible Inca Records T-shirt. The newly remastered album is already available digitally in standard and high-resolution audio.
Born in Puerto Rico in 1941, Ramírez emerged as one of salsa’s most admired improvisational singers. He was only 16 when he joined Tommy Olivencia y Su Orquesta as co-lead vocalist alongside Paquito Guzmán. During his 13 years with the orchestra, Ramírez appeared on eight albums and developed a reputation for his command of the sonero tradition and his ability to create spontaneous verses.
Ramírez also performed with the Alegre All Stars and Kako y Su Orquesta before leaving Olivencia’s band in 1976 and relocating to New York. Three years later, he recorded Alive and Kicking for Inca Records, a Fania subsidiary. The album was produced by Cuban pianist and arranger Javier Vázquez, widely recognized for his association with La Sonora Matancera.
The program opens with “San Agustín,” a memorable son montuno composed by Catalino “Tite” Curet Alonso. The song pays tribute to the working-class San Agustín community in San Juan’s Puerta de Tierra district. Ramírez then turns toward New York’s urban rumba tradition with an updated version of Cuban percussionist Justi Barreto’s “Rumba moderna.”
Among the album’s most popular selections is Ramírez’s own “Adivínalo,” an upbeat composition whose spirited delivery contrasts with its controversial references to drug use. “Así son Bongó,” written by Cuban composer Joseíto Fernández, is another highlight. Its story of an incarcerated man mourning a forgotten romance is transformed by Ramírez and the orchestra into an energetic guaguancó designed for dancers.
The album’s formidable personnel includes trumpeter Alfredo “Chocolate” Armenteros, bassist Elpidio Vázquez Jr., percussionist and vocalist Jorge Maldonado, saxophonists Manolín González and Mario Rivera, and percussionists Alberto Valdés, Edgar López and Mike Collazo. Adalberto Santiago and Tito Allen strengthen the coro, while producer Javier Vázquez also contributes on piano.
The memorable cover, designed by Ron Levine, depicts Ramírez emerging from a coffin into a beam of sunlight—a visual interpretation of the title that later acquired tragic significance. Ramírez was killed by gun violence in 1983 at the age of 41.
More than four decades later, Alive and Kicking remains a vital salsa recording and a lasting testament to Chamaco Ramírez’s commanding voice, improvisational brilliance and enduring artistic legacy. Pre-Order Now.
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