Charlie Parker
Complete DEAN BENEDETTI RECORDINGS of CHARLIE PARKER

Closely connected to Charlie Parker due to the recordings he made of his concerts is Dino ‘DEAN’ BENEDETTI, an Italian-American saxophonist captivated by be-bop with a dissolute life very similar to that of his idol. We owe to him and his portable recorder the documented knowledge (1947-48) of Parker's fiery sessions that, otherwise, would probably have been lost. He began recording him in Los Angeles and ended up following him to New York in the clubs of 52nd Street: a significant amount of material kept by Dean's brother, Rick, which was later published many years later ('90) in a box set by Mosaic Records. Often they are 'snippets' of concert, Parker's solos that do not reach 3/4 minutes. The pieces are the classics of the period. Benedetti had a short life and died at only 34 years old in Italy in Torre del Lago (LU), the hometown of his parents where he is buried. There's also a book titled 'Bendetti da Parker' written by Agostinelli that well portrays the jazz-paced life of this important figure. (Note: originally the box set consisted of a whopping 10 vinyls at an exorbitant price or 7 more affordable CDs).