José Ferreira Godinho Filho (Guaxupé, Minas Gerais, 1932 - São Paulo, São Paulo, 1978). Saxophonist, clarinetist, arranger and composer. In a family of eight children, almost all of the brothers play an instrument: trombone, banjo, drums, percussion, trumpet and saxophone. Casé is interested in the trombone, but his father convinces him to study the saxophone. He starts taking lessons from his older brother, Clóvis, who plays the saxophone and clarinet. At the age of 7, Casé leads an itinerant life with his family, who set up the Circo Teatro Irmãos Martins. In the 1940s, living in São Paulo, he learned most about music by watching his brother Clóvis perform at dances and nightclubs with various ensembles and orchestras. Later, he took classes with clarinetist Antenor Driussi and studied harmony with Hans-Joachim Koellreuter. In 1949, he, aged 17, and his brother were featured in the Rádio Tupi Orchestra. Casé made his first international trip in 1953. He embarked for Baghdad, alongside Belgian pianist and accordionist (based in São Paulo) Rudy Wharton, singer Sonia Batista and bassist Johnny, and then the group passed through London and Brussels. He records an album in 78 rpm, with the songs Feitiço da Vila and At Last.

He returned to Brazil in 1954 and lived in São Paulo with instrumentalist João Donato and trombonist Edson Maciel. In 1955, he moved to Assis, São Paulo, and played in the local orchestra. The following year, he returned to São Paulo and participated, at Teatro Cultura Artística, in a show that resulted in the first 12-inch LP made in the country: Jazz after Midnight (reissued in 1978 under the title Dick Farney Plays Gershwin). In August of that year, in the same location, he took part in the recording of the albums Jazz Festival nº 1 - with the tracks Pennies from Heaven, Blues and Out of Nowhere - and História do Jazz em São Paulo. He played in Sylvio Mazzuca's orchestra from 1957 to 1961. He participated in albums by Walter Wanderley, Dick Farney, Claudete Soares, in addition to performing with the singer on the program O Fino da Bossa. With the group Brazilian Octopus, he performs in the show Momento 68, with Raul Cortez, Walmor Chagas, Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, text by Millôr Fernandes and musical direction by Rogério Duprat. He arranged and recorded some tracks for the album A Onda É Boogaloo, by singer Eduardo Araújo, in 1969. From 1970 onwards, he made several jingles and soundtracks for advertising films. In 1974, he composed the soundtrack for the film The Virgin of Saint Tropez, by Beto Ruschel and Hareton Salvanini. In the 1970s, he moved away from recording albums, refusing invitations from renowned orchestras and artists.

There are few phonographic records left by Casé. Nowadays, records containing his recordings are difficult to find in used bookstores and sold as rarities. Temperamental, he refuses offers for shows and fees, remaining anonymous until the end of his life. Demanding and perfectionist, he dispensed with invitations to join renowned orchestras in Rio de Janeiro - a place of great musical effervescence and with more job offers in the 1960s -, maintaining a nomadic routine in the nightclubs of São Paulo and on small excursions around the interior of the state. Able to perform first readings of complex scores, adding new features and repairing errors in relation to the original, arranging the compositions of other authors on first contact, Casé is an influence on several Brazilian instrumentalists. Considered one of the most important saxophonists in the history of Brazil, alongside Severino Araújo and Moacir Santos, he becomes a reference for saxophonists and clarinetists such as Paulo Moura and Nailor Azevedo, known as Proveta, from Banda Mantiqueira. He also inspires other renowned instrumentalists, such as João Donato, Amilton Godoy, Rubinho Barsotti, Raul de Souza.

In the biography Casé - Como Toca Esse Rapaz, by Fernando Licht Barros, his skill is defined in an excerpt that cites a report by Zuza Homem de Mello, at the time of the saxophonist's death, measuring the musician's qualities: "He was an extraordinary reader of sheet music first sight. It is said that he often transferred the tenor sax part to the alto sax part on the first reading. Casé had a soft breath, like his way of speaking. [...] Even the foreigners who met him were amazed of his qualities. [...] He was capable of leaving, in a poor country cabaret, unforgettable sounds, worthy of the biggest concert halls".

Among Casé's few phonographic recordings, those made with Silvio Mazzuca's orchestra deserve to be highlighted. In 1958, his main recordings were on the LPs Baile de Aniversário, with the maestro's orchestra, and Coffee and Jazz (Columbia), with the Brazilian Jazz Quartet, published by the Gravações Tupi Associados (GTA) label, in 1979, with the title Casé in Memorian, in which the saxophonist participates in a quartet alongside pianist Moacyr Peixoto, bassist Luiz Chaves and drummer Rubinho Barsotti, playing North American standards. Furthermore, alongside bassist Major Holley, drummer Jimmy Campbell and Moacyr Peixoto, Casé impresses with the clarity of his notes and original, fast phrasing in The Good Neighboors Jazz, released by Columbia in 1958, the result of jam sessions at Michel nightclub. In 1960, the Colombian label Hi-Fi Variety released the LP Samba Irresistível, released in Brazil by the Beverly label, with Casé and his ensemble - one of the very few works in which the instrumentalist has his name signed on the cover of an album. In the group, artists such as Heraldo do Monte, on guitar, and Paulinho Preto, on piano. In the repertoire, Saudade da Bahia (Dorival Caymmi), Esse Teu Olhar (Antonio Carlos Jobim), Palpite Infeliz (Noel Rosa), as well as Ensaio de Bossa, written by Casé himself.

Even though he received the best theoretical teachings in his youth, Casé never stops studying, improving his technique and reading. The evolution of his conception of arrangement and interpretative mastery can be clearly observed on the album A Onda É Boogaloo, by Eduardo Araújo, from 1970. The LP, with a repertoire of versions by Tim Maia, Eduardo Araújo and Chil Deberto for songs by Ray Charles (Come Back Baby), James Brown (Cold Sweet), as well as compositions by Tim Maia, such as Você, is the embryo of the first album released by the singer the following year. Other recordings that demonstrate Casé's versatility on the saxophone - not only interpretative, but also in terms of repertoire choice - are Copacabana (João de Barro, o Braguinha/Alberto Ribeiro), on the album The Good Neighbors Jazz, from 1958; Feitio de Oração (Noel Rosa/Vadico) and Ensaio de Bossa, a theme that also highlights Casé's compositional ability, on the album Samba Irresistível, from 1960; Don't Get Around Much Anymore (Duke Ellington), from the 1958 album Coffee & Jazz; and Summertime (George Gershwin), in Meu Baile Inesquecível, from 1963, with Casé and his ensemble, showing all the instrumentalist's familiarity and appreciation for jazz and North American music.

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