Also known as Robertico, Roberto Carcassés graduated in percussion from the National School of Arts in Havana in 1991. He toured as a pianist with the Grupo de Santiago Feliú in Argentina, Germany, and Spain between 1992 and 1995. He took part in a tour in Spain and the US with the group Columna B, in 1998–1999. During this period, he taught in the Jazz Workshop of Stanford University.