Romano Mussolini

Romano Mussolini (26 September 1927 – 3 February 2006) was an Italian jazz pianist, painter and film producer. He was the fourth and youngest son of Benito Mussolini, who was the fascist dictator of Italy from 1925 until 1943.

A native of Villa Carpena, Forlì (Emilia-Romagna), Romano Mussolini studied music as a child, playing classical pieces with his father on the violin.

After World War II, he started playing jazz under the assumed name “Romano Full” and by the mid-1950s, he had formed a trio. Mussolini released a self-titled record (featuring Lilian Terry on vocals and trumpeter Nunzio Rotondo) through RCA Records in 1956. By the 1960s, he had formed the “Romano Mussolini All Stars”, which became one of Italy’s foremost jazz bands.[citation needed]

The All Stars recorded a well-received record Jazz Allo Studio 7 in 1963 with At the Santa Tecla following a year later. Mussolini’s band toured internationally with artists including Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Helen Merrill and Chet Baker. In the 1990s, Mussolini recorded two more albums, Perfect Alibi and Soft and Swing.

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