Orquesta Casino de la Playa, founded in 1937 in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, was a band that bridged Cuban popular music and the sound of American Jazz Big Bands. It was led by

tres Tres may refer to: * Tres (instrument), a Cuban musical instrument * Tres, Trentino, municipality in Italy * "Tres" (song) by Juanes * "Tres", a song by Líbido from their album ''Hembra'' * TrES, the ''Trans-Atlantic Exoplanet Survey'' * Templi ...

player

Arsenio Rodríguez Arsenio Rodríguez (born Ignacio Arsenio Travieso Scull; 31 August 1911 – 30 December 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 bandleader ...

, and launched the career of many important musicians in Cuban music. The group took its name from the name of the casino where they worked. In 1948, it relocated to Mexico City.

History

In the middle of 1937,

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Ar ...

made a variety of recordings in Havana with more than 20 groups with different formats. The Orquesta Casino de la Playa recorded six numbers, and among this songs they performed a version of

' " Bruca maniguá". With this recording, they began their growth in and outside of Cuba. Between 1937 and 1939, the band recorded over 60 songs and made several tours all along América. In 1941, the director of the orchestra

Anselmo Sacasas Anselmo Sacasas (23 November 1912 – 22 January 1998) was a Cuban jazz pianist, bandleader, composer, and arranger. As a pianist he took inspiration from Cuban tres players like Arsenio Rodríguez, adapting their techniques to his own style as a so ...

and 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 ...

abandoned the band and traveled to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

to develop their own projects. Sacasas was substituted by Julio Gutiérrez. The Casino de la Playa used several singers until 1945, when the popular '' Cascarita'' joined the band. Further,

Dámaso Pérez Prado Dámaso is a Spanish masculine given name. The name is equivalent to that of Pope Damasus I in English. The name also exists in Italian as Damaso, though it is uncommon. People * Dámaso Alonso (1898–1990), Spanish poet * Dámaso Berenguer, 1st ...

played piano and arranged for the band for a short time until he left Cuba and settled in

México Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guat ...

, where he developed his own vision of

mambo Mambo most often refers to: *Mambo (music), a Cuban musical form *Mambo (dance), a dance corresponding to mambo music Mambo may also refer to: Music * Mambo section, a section in arrangements of some types of Afro-Caribbean music, particula ...

Relevance

The Casino de la Playa orchestra can be considered as one of the first Cuban jazz bands. This kind of band played a repertoire of Cuban songs with the characteristic sound of an American jazz band but with an emphasis on high quality singers.

Sources

Cuban musical groups Musical groups established in 1937 RCA Victor artists {{Caribbean-band-stub