Anselmo Sacasas (23 November 1912 – 22 January 1998) was a

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

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pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a dance band, rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhyth ...

, composer, and arranger. As a pianist he took inspiration from Cuban

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players like

Arsenio Rodríguez Arsenio Rodríguez (born Ignacio Arsenio Travieso Scull; August 31, 1911 – December 30, 1970)Giro, Radamés 2007. ''Diccionario enciclopédico de la música en Cuba''. La Habana, v. 4, p. 45 et seq. was a Cuban musician, composer and bandl ...

, adapting their techniques to his own style as a soloist in orchestras playing

Cuban music The music of Cuba, including its instruments, performance, and dance, comprises a large set of unique traditions influenced mostly by west African and European (especially Spanish) music. Due to the syncretic nature of most of its genres, Cuban ...

. He began to learn piano at the age of 6 from a female cousin, and 10 years later graduated from the music conservatory in Manzanillo. He later moved to

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.danzón Danzón is the official genre and dance of Cuba.Urfé, Odilio 1965. ''El danzón''. La Habana. It is also an active musical form in USA and Puerto Rico. Written in time, the danzón is a slow, formal partner dance, requiring set footwork ...

style. In the early 1930s he was a member of Tata Pereira's orchestra. In 1936 he met the singer

Miguelito Valdés Miguelito Valdés (September 6, 1912 – November 9, 1978), also known as Mr. Babalú, was a renowned Cuban singer. His performances were characterized by a strong voice and a particular sense of ''cubanismo''. Life Miguelito Valdés was born ...

, with whom he would work in the Orquesta de los Hermanos Castro. Shortly after they would found the Orquesta Casino de la Playa. This band, with Sacasas’s jazz arrangements, would prove to be a complete revolution in the Cuban music scene, touring Central and South America and appearing on film in both Cuba and the United States. In 1940, Sacasas left for New York, where after some brief difficulty he was able to found his own orchestra in 1941. They played in the Colony Club in Chicago and the cabarets La Conga Club,

La Martinique La Martinique was a popular nightclub in New York City, United States during the 1940s. Situated in a basement at 57 West 57th Street, the club was owned and operated by Dario Goldfarb and Jim Vernon. It was at La Martinique that Mr. & Mrs. Walt ...

and the Havana Madrid in Manhattan. Sacasas moved to Miami in 1949 when he became the musical director of the Sans Souci Hotel and Blue Sails Room. In 1954 he became the musical director of the Fountainbleu Hotel in Miami and Club La Ronde. In 1963 he became the musical director of the El San Juan Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico and the Tropicoro nightclub where he performed for thirteen years, after which he retired to Miami, where he died in 1998.

Discography

*''In the Hall of the Mambo King'' (2002 CD) *''1942-1944'' (1996 CD) *''Sol Tropical "1945-1949"'' *''Anselmo Sacasas "1942-44"'' (Harlequin, 1996) *''Anselmo Sacasas "Poco Loco: 1945-1949"'' (Tumbao, 1995)

References

Cuban jazz pianists Big band pianists Cuban jazz bandleaders Cuban big band bandleaders 1912 births 1998 deaths 20th-century Cuban pianists Orquesta Riverside members {{cuba-musician-stub