In praise of a music critic who knows his history
The music critic John Daverio and his daughter are the stars of an hour-long documentary on the impact of a great man in song. But what made this program such a valuable lesson in history? Why, the family history of the man himself. The Daverio family began as one of the original bands of the 1930s, but went through ups and downs. They had a lot more problems than the typical family, and they were not alone.
For example, the first couple in the family, who were both musicians, were part of the Italian Communist Party, and the communist party did not have too much love for what they called “Jewish music.” They were also members of the League of Progressive National Front (LPNF) who were not known for their musical talent. So when some band members in the Communist Party asked them to leave, they were told they had to be “uniformed by tomorrow.”
John Daverio grew up in Naples and he was musical from an early age. He played the violin, the cello, the accordion, and the double bass. He became a band leader under the name “Arzignoni,” which he took from a character in a Pontecorvo novel. He played with many bands that had many different members, and he was a talented singer.
John graduated with a degree from the University of Florence in 1936, and he found a job after the war, as a music critic for the newspaper La Gazzetta di Capua.
A few years later, when John was working for the newspaper, the U.S. entered the war.
John had already become an anti-fascista and anti-war writer, and he was fired from the newspaper. He went to Paris and worked as a reporter for the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. He then came back