Romano Mussolini

Romano Mussolini ( born September 26 1927 in Forli; † 3 February 2006 in Rome ) was an Italian jazz pianist.

Life

Romano Mussolini was the youngest son of Benito Mussolini, the dictator of Fascist Italy ( " Duce "). His mother was Rachele Mussolini, née Guidi. He had two brothers and two sisters.

Even in Fascist Italy Romano Mussolini took great interest in this music. He became a great lover of the jazz scene and wrote for renowned magazines. Mussolini taught himself to play the piano. With his father, who played the violin, but he has played only classical pieces. About his brother Vittorio, a jazz fan and author, he came up with the music of the American war in enemy contact. After the end of World War II, he played in Ischia, where his mother Rachele had retired, and later in Naples and Rome as a jazz musician in various bands and under different names.

First with his band " Romano Mussolini All Stars ", he became a celebrated jazz musicians in Italy. Through his 1963 released album "Jazz Allo Studio 7 ", he became known internationally and then played together with Chet Baker, Caterina Valente, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton. Romano Mussolini was a committed advocate of the traditional big band jazz as well as the intimate interaction in combos. He encouraged the young people with many shared recordings, including the trombonist Guido Pisticchi and the tenor saxophonist Massimo D' Avola.

Romano Mussolini was first married to Anna Maria Scicolone, the sister of Sophia Loren, married, later with Carla Maria Puccini. From the first marriage of the daughters Alessandra and Elisabetta emerged from the second daughter Rachele. Romano Mussolini was politically never active - in contrast to his daughter Alessandra. Alessandra Mussolini, former MEP and chairman of the far right party Alternativa Sociale Splitter, 2006 was a candidate for the mayor's office in Rome.

The apolitical Romano Mussolini long time never expressed to his father. 2004, however, he published the book: "Il Duce, mio ​​padre " ( German: The guide, my father).

Discography

(Selection)