Before long, the Orquesta Casino de la Playa was in such demand that individual members began to consider lucrative solo deals. Having toured and made over sixty recordings between 1937 and 1939, a couple of members quit through sheer exhaustion.

Although only around for two years, the Orquesta Casino de la Playa was hugely influential across the globe, as far as dance music was concerned. The sound of the band contributed to a new type of mambo that appeared in the early 1940’s. It continues to influence today, with the sound of the Buena Vista Social Club, leaning towards the fusion sound of the Orquesta Casino de la Playa in style.

Pianist Reuben Gonzalez often sites the band as his greatest influence in childhood. Never has there been a more distinctive and original band in Latin American music, that was so different to anything that existed in the day.
The sounds of the Orquesta Casino de la Playa have also influenced bands of a more commercial nature, such as Carlos Santana’s Santana, Jimmy Bosch and his Nu Yorican Allstars, Incognito, and The Nightflies.

Latin Jazz continues to be popular today, with contributions and samples from Latin music old and new finding their way onto hip-hop and R and B records, even into commercial pop.

Without the syncopated grooves of the Orquesta Casino de la Playa, Latin music would have been remarkably different. Their influence is as relevant today as it was in their 1930’s heyday.