Gabriel Escobar-Casas Biography

Gabriel Escobar-Casas is one of the giants of Latin American percussion, meaning that he is unknown except to the types of people who can easily fill up the back of a station wagon with their equipment. The man, whose surname literally means “field of broom houses,” did much more than squat in a drum circle with his instruments. He was an acknowledged master of hundreds of rhythmic feels from throughout the southern hemisphere, from the well-known bamba to the Argentinean zamba, not to mention his mastery of marinera (the dance not the sauce), and merengue (the dance not the dessert). Percussionists reluctant to compile a list of desert-island discs would not hesitate a moment if the subject turned to books to be savored in prolonged periods of isolation. In that case, first choice would be Latin-American Rhythms by Escobar-Casas, first published in 1947, and still considered one of the more comprehensive studies of a subject vast in detail as well as gyration. Escobar-Casas developed his knowledge during a long period of work in Latin-American orchestras. He began as a sideman, relegated to highly disciplined and organized tasks within various formats of percussion sections, eventually developed into a bandleader and then an arranger of music on radio stations ranging from Argentina to west Texas. One of his most famous compositions is “Serenito of May.” Singer Gladys Viera recorded his song “Me Olvidaste Muy Pronto.”