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 soloist in orchestras playing Cuban music.

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, where he composed piano pieces for silent films and developed an interest in the danzón style. In the early 1930s he was a member of Tata Pereira's orchestra.

In 1936 he met the singer Miguelito Valdés, with whom he would work in the Orquesta de los Hermanos Castro. Shortly after they established the Orquesta Casino de la Playa. This band, propelled by Sacasas’s signature jazz arrangements and piano improvisations, revolutionized the Cuban music scene. Performing live daily on Cuban national radio station CMQ, they quickly became the most renowned and respected orchestra in Cuba and the Caribbean. The orchestra toured Central and South America and appeared on film in both Cuba and the United States.

In 1940, Sacasas left Cuba for the United States, where after some brief difficulty he was able to establish his own orchestra in 1941. During the 1940’s Sacasas and his orchestra performed at the Colony Club in Chicago and the cabarets La Conga Club, the iconic La Martinique as well as the renowned Havana Madrid in Manhattan, from which they were featured live on a weekly radio program transmitted nationally by the Mutual Broadcast System.

Sacasas moved to Miami in 1949 when he became the musical director of the Sans Souci Hotel and performed in the Blue Sails Room. In 1954 he became the musical director of the Fountainbleu Hotel in Miami and performed in the 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. In 1976 Sacasas retired from performing and settled in Miami where he continued to compose music until his death in 1998.

Birth and Death Data: Died January 22, 1998

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1938 - 1949

Roles Represented in DAHR: piano, leader, composer, songwriter

Notes: Anselmo Sacasas also credited as A. P. Sacasas in Victor ledgers.

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 1-25 of 61 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor B-027838 10-in. 9/19/1938 El reino de tus ojos Orquesta Casino de la Playa ; Miguelito Valdés Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Victor BS-033867 10-in. before 2/27/1939 Cuando vuelvas a quererme Orquesta Casino de la Playa ; Anselmo Sacasas ; Miguelito Valdés Re-recording : Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-035381 10-in. before 3/30/1939 Llora campesino Marcelino Guerra ; Orquesta Casino de la Playa ; Carlos Suárez ; Miguelito Valdés Re-recording : Jazz/dance band, with male vocal trio songwriter  
Victor BS-035557 10-in. before 4/3/1939 Oriente Orquesta Casino de la Playa ; Anselmo Sacasas ; Miguelito Valdés Re-recording : Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Victor BS-037007 10-in. before 6/27/1939 Orquesta Casino de la Playa ; Anselmo Sacasas ; Miguelito Valdés Re-recording : Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and piano solo instrumentalist, piano  
Victor D5XB-0016 10-in. 1/4/1945 Acabaste Octavio Mendoza ; Orquesta Sacasas Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo instrumentalist, piano, leader, composer  
Victor D5XB-0017 10-in. 1/4/1945 Caramba, caramba Octavio Mendoza ; Orquesta Sacasas Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo instrumentalist, piano, leader  
Victor D5XB-0018 10-in. 1/4/1945 Linda mujer Octavio Mendoza ; Orquesta Sacasas Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader, instrumentalist, piano  
Victor D5XB-0019 10-in. 1/4/1945 Koki koka Octavio Mendoza ; Orquesta Sacasas Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader, instrumentalist, piano  
Victor D5XB-0149 10-in. 3/16/1945 Sol tropical Octavio Mendoza ; Orquesta Sacasas Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer, leader, instrumentalist, piano  
Victor D5XB-0150 10-in. 3/16/1945 Pa' lo pollo mai Octavio Mendoza ; Sacasas Havana Madrid Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader, instrumentalist, piano  
Victor D5XB-0151 10-in. 3/16/1945 Si tu me llevas te llevo Octavio Mendoza ; Orquesta Sacasas Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo leader, instrumentalist, piano  
Victor D5XB-0152 10-in. 3/16/1945 Y que le voy a hacer? Sacasas Havana Madrid Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo songwriter, instrumentalist, piano, leader  
Victor D5XB-0410 10-in. 6/13/1945 Me vacilón Octavio Mendoza ; Orquesta Sacasas Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo instrumentalist, piano, leader, songwriter  
Victor D5XB-0411 10-in. 6/13/1945 Pronto José Octavio Mendoza ; Orquesta Sacasas Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo instrumentalist, piano, leader  
Victor D5XB-0412 10-in. 6/13/1945 La ruñidera Octavio Mendoza ; Orquesta Sacasas Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo instrumentalist, piano, leader  
Victor D5XB-0413 10-in. 6/13/1945 Capullito de Aleli Orquesta Sacasas Jazz/dance band instrumentalist, piano, leader  
Victor D6XB-1328 10-in. 3/8/1946 Guardo un recuerdo Orquesta Sacasas ; Walfredo de los Reyes Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo instrumentalist, piano, leader  
Victor D6XB-1330 10-in. 3/8/1946 Mambo Rubén González ; Orquesta Sacasas Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer, instrumentalist, piano, leader  
Victor D6XB-2647 10-in. 8/13/1946 Siempre de allá pa' cá Rubén González ; Orquesta Sacasas Instrumental ensemble, with male vocal solo instrumentalist, piano, leader  
Victor D6XB-2648 10-in. 8/13/1946 La cigüeña Rubén González ; Orquesta Sacasas Instrumental ensemble, with male vocal solo instrumentalist, piano, leader  
Victor D6XB-2649 10-in. 8/13/1946 El cumbanchero Rubén González ; Orquesta Sacasas Instrumental ensemble, with male vocal solo instrumentalist, piano, leader  
Victor D6XB-2650 10-in. 8/13/1946 Revoltillo Rubén González ; Orquesta Sacasas Instrumental ensemble, with male vocal solo instrumentalist, piano, leader  
Victor D6XB-3374 10-in. 12/5/1946 Me deja solito Rubén González ; Orquesta Sacasas ; Anselmo Sacasas Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo instrumentalist, piano, leader  
Victor D6XB-3375 10-in. 12/5/1946 Te seguiré queriendo Orquesta Sacasas ; Bobby Ramos Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo instrumentalist, piano, leader, songwriter  
(Results 1-25 of 61 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Sacasas, Anselmo," accessed December 25, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/108359.

Sacasas, Anselmo. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 25, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/108359.

"Sacasas, Anselmo." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 25 December 2025.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/108359

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