It’s a terrible world that conceived, raised and, at times, accompanied great artists to their death. It’s the world that saw the birth and death of the dreams of individuals who sought themselves in a solo with the furious strength of those who have nothing to lose, while they changed the language of music forever. It’s the world in which Dean Benedetti also walked when he left Utah with his sax to seek his fortune. Passing through Nevada and then landing in Los Angeles, he lived on the margins and recorded the birth of bebop live with Charlie Parker. It’s the most important encounter of his life, and what he has for Bird is pure obsession. Until, to avoid the American courts, the “white negro” is forced to cross the enormous sea in the opposite direction. Not a voyage towards the future or hope, but towards immobility and bitterness. The final destination: Torre del Lago, his father’s and Giacomo Puccini’s hometown, with friends at the café, a game of checkers and the aspiring musicians who dream of America to the notes of 78 rpm records played so often the grooves were like canyons. On the two continents, the lives of Parker and Benedetti burn out at the same speed. Both die at 34. Acute, sardonic and melancholy, Alessandro Agostinelli’s novel tells the story of a grand little jazzman in a syncopated and rhythmic prose in which music is the soundtrack for a universal human event.