Roberto Carcassés, an excellent Cuban pianist and composer, completed his elementary studies in music, percussion, and piano at the Alejandro García Caturla Conservatory (31st Avenue and 82nd Street, Marianao, Havana). He graduated as a percussionist from the National School of Music (ENA) (120th Street between 9th and 13th Streets, Cubanacán, Playa, Havana). He studied his specialty with Professor Roberto Concepción. He also took piano lessons from Laritza Gordon.

From 1992 to 1995, he was a member of Santiago Feliú’s group, and in 1994 he organized the group Estado de Ánimo with Descemer Bueno, Elmer Ferrer, and X Alfonso. He later founded Columna B in 1996.

Roberto Carcassés participated in Havana’s Jazz Plaza festivals in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, and 2000. In a review of the 1995 Jazz Plaza Festival for Granma Internacional, Ellen Rosenzweig described Roberto Carcassés and his group Estado de Ánimo as “the great revelation of the year, as their experimental jazz blended with fusion left the crowd on their feet and asking for more.”

He has performed at prestigious international festivals such as: Jazz de Barcelona, ​​Spain in 1992 and 1996; Jazz de Utah in Salt Lake City, USA in 1998; Jazz de Lugo, Spain, that same year; Stanford Jazz, also in 1998; Work Shop Jazz Festival, the following year; North Beach Jazz Festival, San Francisco, USA in 1999; Trinidad and Tobago Jazz Festival, 2000 and the Latin Jazz Festival in Los Angeles, California, accompanied by Bobby Carcassés, that same year.

For Danza Contemporánea de Cuba, he composed and performed the music for Marianela Boán’s adaptation of Tennessee Williams’s “A Streetcar Named Desire” in 1999. It received numerous critical accolades.

In 1997, he composed the music for the film Violeta, directed by Alberto Cortés, produced by Tabasco Film (Mexico). He has also collaborated on Abel Ferrara’s New Row Hotel (United States) in 1998; Fernando Colombo’s Cuarteto de La Habana (Spain) in 1999; and Orlando Rojas’ Las noches de Constantinople (Cuba) in 2000.

Roberto Carcassés has participated in recordings of several musical productions such as: Jazz Timbero (Tommy Music with Bobby Carcassés, 1990); Náuseas de fin de siglo by Santiago Feliú in 1994; Futuro inmediato, also by Feliú in 1998); that same year with Pavel and Gema he participated in Trampas de tiempos; Aires de Habana in 1999 (Velas Universal with Selma Reis); Invitation (Velas Universal, Roberto Carcassés, 2000) and Mambo and Cía. (Velas Universal, that same year).

Among his works are California in Key; Daphnis and Terry; No Money; Who Said It; and Tune for Robin. Critics have called his album, Invitation, a wonderful experience.

Roberto Carcassés has exchanged and collaborated with leading Cuban and international musicians, including Silvio Rodríguez, José Luis Quintana (Changuito), Chucho Valdés, Steve Coleman, George Benson, Wynton Marsalis, Harper Simon, and others. He has taught piano masterclasses in countries such as the United States, Canada, and France, and has performed at the Blue Note in Tokyo and Ronnie Scotts in London.

He currently fronts Interactivo, which is undoubtedly one of the most interesting musical projects to emerge from Havana in recent times. It’s not a formally established band, but rather a group that includes instrumentalists and vocalists who already have solid professional careers as individuals; musicians of the caliber of Yusa (bass), Elmer Ferrer (guitar), Julio Padrón (trumpet), and the unmistakable style of their singer, Francis. An endless list also includes the rapping of Telmary Díaz, who is already becoming familiar. For them, Interactivo is an open gateway to musical creativity, teamwork, and experimentation.

The band was born spontaneously. Roberto Carcassés was the arranger for Cuban multi-instrumentalist and singer Yusa’s first album, recorded in 2001. Since both were highly motivated by the work, the idea arose to recruit other musicians. That same year, the group recorded their first demo, “Wanted,” which included approximately seven tracks and was an excellent prelude to the group’s first CD, “Goza Pepillo,” which was released three years later and won the 2006 Cubadisco Grand Prize.

In 2005, the DVD Jazz Cuba Today was released, featuring performances by Carcassés solo on piano and those of trumpeter Alexander Brown and guitarist Elmer Ferrer with their respective bands. This work won a Cubadisco award that year. He also co-produced part of the CD Techari by the Spanish group Ojos de Brujo.

In 2009, Carcassés and his trio participated in the opening concert of the Casa de Teatro International Jazz Festival, one of the most important events of the genre held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where some of the most outstanding international performers perform.

Roberto Carcassés is a sublime Cuban musician who has transported his groups toward the contemporaneity of Latin Jazz, with a perpetual spectrum of resources, achieved both on the piano and on electronic keyboards.