Casas, Gloria Estefan Music Director, Mentors Lab Bands at GC

The Contemporary Christian Music program at Greenville College, nationally recognized as the birth place of Grammy-winning band Jars of Clay and new Gotee recording artist Stephanie Smith, recently received a generous gift from Warwick Basses based in Germany. This gift came about through Warwick’s long-time association with Jorge Casas, artist-in-residence and instructor in the Greenville College program. Michael Brown, Warwick’s US Artist Relations representative based in Santa Barbara, CA, presented Greenville College with a Warwick Extreme 5.1 Bass Amp with a 4 x 10” Warwick speaker cabinet, while providing a Streamer Stage I, five-string bass to Professor Casas.

Casas has been endorsing and playing Warwick Basses for 18 years, and has even made a trip to the production warehouse in Germany. He has been featured in Bass Player magazine and other publications endorsing their product. Remaining loyal to the brand, Casas added Warwick bass amplifiers to his rig when the amps were first produced ten years ago. Casas, with his Warwick gear, has appeared on numerous television shows and world tours with artists including Gloria Estefan and Julio Iglasias.

Since beginning as a full time professor at GC in the fall of 2007, Casas has taken on a number of responsibilities. Along with teaching guitar and rock ensemble courses, he is also in charge of lab band development and applied bass instruction. Being involved in the performance aspect of music is only the beginning. He also hopes to transmit to his students the life lessons learned about attitude and behavior in the industry.

Growing up under the influence of such greats as the Beatles and jazz greats Ron Carter and Ray Brown, Casas developed a love of music at a young age that would impact the rest of his life. Beginning his career on the guitar, Casas later switched to bass when the bassist left the first band he was involved in, The Challengers. They first performed publicly, when Casas was 16, in Puerto Rico. Since then, Casas has performed with Prince, Jimmy Page and Madonna.

In 1986, Casas joined Gloria Estefan’s musical team as musical director and bassist. In 1989, he was nominated for a Grammy for Producer of the Year, and in 1993 walked away with his first Grammy for Best Tropical Latin album for Gloria Estefan’s Mi Tierra. This was his first of three Grammy Awards, which was followed by Best Latin Album for Jon Secada’s Otro Dia Mas Sin Verte and Best Pop Latin Album for Jon Secada’s Amor, both in 1995.

After an assortment of awards and honors including multi-platinum albums and top Billboard singles, one could say Casas has indeed proven himself in the music industry. Along with his extensive involvement with Gloria Estefan, Casas is also involved with a production team called Red Rock Studios in Miami, FL. The company produces records for various artists and companies such as Tokyo Disney’s parades and park exhibits.

Professor Casas is sure to bring a new energy and long-running experience to the music department of Greenville College. When asked about his goals, Casas said he wishes “to maintain the level of excellence that I pride myself in and to pass on to and educate future, young musicians all that I have learned and still learn today.”