Latin Beat Magazine: El Conjunto Casino on and off the record

Their Cuban fans crowned the Conjunto Casino as "Los Campeones del Ritmo" (The Rhythm Champions), recognizing their mastery of all genres of Latin music. Their repertoire included sambas, porros, cumbias, boleros, congas, guarachas, sones, mambos, chachachás, sucu-sucus and several other rhythms. The flexibility of their instrumentation, coupled with a talented array of vocalists, allowed the group to produce quality performances in all types of music.

The conjunto evolved from a neighborhood group organized in Havana, in the early 1930s and was called Sexteto Miquito. Then, the number of musicians in a group frequently did not match its name. Sextetos had more than six members and septetos had more than seven. The Sexteto Miquito, for example, had added a piano to its instrumentation. In 1937, Esteban Grau reorganized the band adding two trumpets and called it "Septeto Casino." The new ensemble gained needed experience performing in local dance halls and radio broadcasts. In 1941, two key players joined the group: vocalist Roberto Espí and bass player Cristóbal Doval.

Espí told an interviewer that his entry into the Septeto Casino happened in an interesting way. He met daily with some friends at the Café Yara in Havana, to enjoy some conversation and drink coffee. One day in 1941, an itinerant troubadour stopped to sing at their table. Espí grabbed a guitar and joined the troubadour in song. Present at the Café that day was Esteban Grau, leader of the Septeto Casino. He heard Espí sing, liked what he heard and invited the singer to join the septeto.

The newcomer suggested to Esteban Grau to change the name to "Conjunto Orquestal Casino," since the group now numbered more than seven players. They finally settled on "Conjunto Casino." The original members of Conjunto Casino were: Esteban Grau, (leader, tres guitar and singer), Juan Fuentes "Bolita" (singer), Enrique Rodríguez "El Diablo Rojo" (piano), Pepe and Manolo Saladrino (bass and vocals), Guillermo Romero "Picadillo" (bongos), Eduardo Periqué and Alberto Armenteros (trumpet).

In 1941, Roberto Espí and Cristóbal Doval replaced the Saladrino Brothers on vocals and bass. The group continued to gain popularity in Cuba and abroad. That year, they signed a recording contract with RCA Victor. The first session included four numbers. In those days, the typical recording session consisted of two slow numbers and two fast-rhythm tunes. Each 78-rpm record had a bolero on one side and a guaracha or a son on the other. The song titles recorded were: Cada noche un amor, Con la lengua afuera, Canción del Alma and A mí qué. The Conjunto continued to expand and in 1942, Nelo Sosa joined the all-star roster of vocalists.

Conjunto Casino's popularity in Mexico resulted in an invitation in 1944 to perform at the Cabaret Sans Souci in that country's capital city. The offer came from the management of the Sans Souci nightclub in Havana. They were opening another Sans Souci in Mexico and asked the Conjunto Casino to inaugurate the new club. In Mexico's Sans Souci, they alternated with the Mario Ruiz Armengol Orchestra.

Something happened during that trip to Mexico that caused the replacement of Esteban Grau by Roberto Espí as leader. Two possible explanations have been offered for this. Roberto Espí maintains that Esteban Grau had to return to Cuba due to his condition as a diabetic that made it impossible for him to perforro. Another account alleges that there was dissatisfaction among the musicians with Grau's leadership and they asked him to leave.

There was also another significant loss to the Conjunto Casino during their stay in Mexico. Singer Nelo Sosa became seriously ill and had to return to Cuba. The Conjunto had to find a replacement in a hurry. Singer Alfredito Valdés had just arrived in Mexico and was looking for work. Espí signed him to sing with the group for the length of their stay in Mexico. While in Mexico, the Conjunto Casino made several recordings for RCA Victor featuring Alfredito Valdés on vocals. Among them were the following: El vendedor que no F<aaí>a, Yo saludá, Ña ña rube and Tinajas y tinajones.

After the Conjunto returned to Cuba in 1945, singer Roberto Faz permanently replaced Nelo Sosa. Conga player Carlos "Patato" Valdés also joined the group that year. Up to that time, the Conjunto did not have a full-time conga player. Trumpet player Miguelito Romero would at times lay the trumpet aside and play the conga. Vocalist Roberto Faz remained with them for the next 13 years and Patato Valdés left in 1954.

In the mid-1940s, the Conjunto Casino became a sensation with their hit recordings and personal appearances. The group traveled extensively, including visits to Venezuela and Puerto Rico in 1946. They returned to Puerto Rico in 1948, where they shared the bandstand with the Rafael González Peña Orchestra at the Escambrón Beach Club. They also played musical background for singer/dancer Maria Antonieta Pons, Kiko Mendive and Ruth Fernández. In 1950, the Conjunto Casino performed in the Dominican Republic. The group also made a memorable trip to New York in 1953.

During the height of their popularity, the Conjunto Casino was under exclusive contract with RCA Victor Records. When the famous Puerto Rican singer Daniel Santos asked Espí and his men to record with him, their name could not appear on the record. They were listed instead as "Daniel Santos y su Conjunto." The following are some of the tunes they recorded: Elvira, La manzanillera, Virgen del camino, El chino camarero, Si me picas me rasco and Cero guayabera.

The Conjunto's instrumentation of two trumpets, piano, bass and percussion as well as the original arrangements by Alberto Armenteros, Pepé Delgado and Ñico Cevedo, produced a long parade of hit records. Credit is also due to outstanding performances by the group's vocalists. By that time, singer and guitarist Agustín Ribot had joined Espí and Faz to form the Conjunto's "Great Triumvirate." Some of their best recordings made in the late 1940s and early '50s were Tócale la campana, Comprensión, La última noche, La vaca lechera, A romper el coco, El baile del pinguino, Pónle la montura al potro, Esto es felicidad, Sun sun babaé and the sucu-sucu Felipe Blanco. The group also had daily radio programs on stations CMQ and RHC as well as television presentations on Channel 6.

The Conjunto Casino traveled to New York in 1953, under contract for an extended stay at the Tropicana Ballroom in the Bronx. According to Roberto Espí, several New York musicians, including band leader Tito Puente, complained to the New York Federation of Musicians about the Conjunto's performances in New York. They questioned why a band composed of musician citizens of Cuba, and non-members of the Musician's Union, was allowed to play for several months in a New York ballroom. Espí tells of how a Union delegate tried to stop the Conjunto Casino from playing and threatened the two alternating bands (Gilberto Valdés and Arsenio Rodríguez) with fines if they shared the bandstand with the Conjunto. Arsenio and Gilberto disregarded the threat and continued to play. Eventually, both had to pay fines to the Union. The Conjunto Casino fulfilled the terms of their contract and then returned to Cuba. Espí adamantly maintained that it was never their intention to stay in New York beyond the time specified in their contract. He explained that the Conjunto Casino had more than enough work in Cuba and other Caribbean countries.

In 1956, Roberto Faz left the Conjunto Casino to organize his own group. Fernando Alvarez, a young, promising singer from Santiago de Cuba, who had been singing with Benny Moré's Banda Gigante was invited to join the Conjunto. Their recordings of Humo y espuma, ¿Qué será? Influencias and Llegaste tarde were instant hits. These were followed by: Llanto de luna, Vuelveme a querer, Si no eres tú and ¿Qué más da?

During the 1960s and '70s, Conjunto Casino continued recording, now with lesser known vocalists such as Alberto Díaz, Felo Martínez, Jesús Navarro and Orlando Morales. As musical tastes changed, the Conjunto's popularity declined. Very little was heard from the Conjunto Casino until 2001, when it rose again from its ashes "a la" the mythological bird Phoenix. A group of young Cuban musicians has revitalized the Conjunto and produced a CD they call Montuno en Neptuno #960 (RealRhythm, 59907.) The song titles include some traditional tunes as well as modern compositions. Early reviews prognosticate a successful future for this new millennium version of the Conjunto Casino.

While researching the history of this great musical aggregation, we discovered some amusing anecdotes that we want to share with you. During their trip to Puerto Rico in 1948, the Conjunto was sharing the stage with Cuban singer and dancer Maria Antonieta Pons. She wanted the group to provide musical background for her show. Roberto Espí met with her and explained that theirs was a small ensemble, incapable of playing her elaborate arrangements, written for a big band. In addition, their pianist was "El Diablo Rojo" who did not read music. Maria Antonieta insisted and after some quick rehearsals, the Conjunto Casino successfully played for the Pons show. They went on to accompany singers Ruth Fernández and Kiko Mendive.

The Conjunto Sonora Matancera and the Conjunto Casino were two of the most popular groups in Cuba during the 1940s and '50s. They both had their devoted fans that extolled the merits of their particular favorite. As expected, the general public believed that there was personal animosity between the groups. The truth is that the rivalry was only on the bandstand and away from it most of the musicians were friends. Roberto Espí tells how one night while the two conjuntos were alternating at a dance, he and Rogelio Martínez (leader of the Sonora Matancera) stopped to chat in the middle of the dance floor. That innocent interchange was blown up by gossip mongers into a "heated argument."

Perhaps one of the most incredible incidents involving the Conjunto Casino has to do with the death of Roberto Faz, who was their lead singer for many years. The day after his death on April 26, 1966, Roberto Faz was buried in his hometown of Regla, Cuba. Rain fell heavily on that day and the cemetery was flooded. A short time later, Faz's father-in-law died and he was buried in the same burial site. When the gravediggers opened the grave, they found Faz's casket inclined to one side and the cadaver's hands were protruding from the casket. That led to the story that Roberto Faz had been buried alive and that he tried in vain to escape from his grave.

In closing, we would like to list the names of some of the artists who helped the Conjunto Casino become one of the best musical aggregations in Cuban popular music history.

Group Leaders: Esteban Grau and Roberto Espí

Vocalists: Fernando Alvarez, Rend del Mar, Alberto Diaz, Roberto Espi, Roberto Faz, Esteban Grau, Felo Martínez, Orlando Morales, Jesús Navarro, Agustín Ribot, Leangel "Rolito" Rodríguez, Alberto Ruiz, Nelo Sosa, Alfredito Valdés and Orlando Vallejo

Bass: Cristóbal Doval

Piano: Roberto Alvarez, Ñico Cevedo, Pepé Delgado, Agustín Merciel and Enrique Rodríguez "El Diablo Rojo."

Trumpets: Alberto "Mazorca" Armenteros, José Gudin, Miguel Román and Mario Sori.

Congas: Carlos "Patato" Valdés

Bongos: Orlando Guzmán

Xylophone: Pedro Calonge