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about

Grupo Casabe can lay claim to being Ray Pérez’s last great group. Fresh from the successes of Los Dementes and Los Kenya, Pérez was at the forefront of Venezuelan salsa in the mid- 70s, and still experimenting with música bailable and all the danceable horn-blazing styles that were beginning to be known collectively as salsa. The finest tracks of this short-lived combo, active from 1974 until 1975, are now being celebrated by El Palmas Music on a new compilation simply titled Ray Pérez y El Grupo Casabe. Pérez was bandleader for an astonishing number of groups, which was partly due to his in- demand status, with each move to a new label meaning he needed a new band name. Such was the case with Ray Pérez y El Grupo Casabe, formed when CBS came calling. Their line-up built on his previous groups, with both a drum kit and percussion for additional power, a mixture of trumpets, trombones and sax in the horn section, and Pérez himself belting out those trusty piano montuños. Along with him for the ride were vocalists including Rodrigo Perdomo (brother of “El Negrito Calavén”, from Pérez’s earlier group, Los Calvos) and Rafael Morillo.

However, on “Santa”, the first single from the compilation, it’s Pérez himself who takes the mic. If salsa was becoming smoother by the mid-70s, the genre’s formula beginning to take shape and far less risks, then no-one told Pérez who still found time to innovate and stamp his own identity on things. “Santa”, built around a guaguancó riff, is fine proof, waves of brass and percussion duelling it out with the call-and-response chorus until Pérez makes time stand still with a classy piano solo. Factor in his vocal ad-libs and a heady bass line that gives the whole track a whiplash of a groove, and it’s clear that Pérez still has many a trick up his sleeve.

“Santa” is the first single from Ray Pérez y El Grupo Casabe, a compilation from El Palmas Music collecting together the finest music Pérez made with Grupo Casabe in 1974 and 1975.

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released July 22, 2022

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Ray Pérez y El Grupo Casabe Caracas, Venezuela

Ray Perez began his musical career without the help of any record company. His first recording was paid for by himself when he arrived in Caracas from Maracaibo and with the germ of the group Los Dementes in development. No label wanted his production, but with infinite perseverance and immense love for music, his projects began to see the light, with an energy that will accompany him to this day. ... more

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