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 | Tú | 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 |
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
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Sacasas, Anselmo - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no00023476
Wikidata: Anselmo Sacasas - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q276034
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/26605405
MusicBrainz: Anselmo Sacasas - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/46c45374-2baf-48ad-b474-13b8263e975f
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