Anthony Parenti was raised in a musical family. He learned to play various reed instruments as a child. He was just a teenager when he got a job at Johnny De Droit’s Jazz Orchestra. This orchestra was the first to perform Jazz as it is today for New Orleans’ elite social events. He was already leading his own band at La Vida in his hometown, making his first recordings with this group. He only recorded occasionally, at most, until the Depression of his early thirties. This left him in New York, where he was one of Irving Mills’ cornermen and sat in on recordings dates with The Dorsey Brothers Orchestra’s associates. He worked alongside Ted Lewis and Muggsy Spanier in the early 40s, as well as with Preacher Rolleo and his Five Saints at M.G.M. Tony Parenti had a clarinet tone more authentic than many of his peers. His early recordings often lost the delicate lines due to the indifferent recording of his ensemble. But later in his career, he is heard as a brilliant and tasteful soloist, whose work is reminiscent the Creole clarinettists Omer Simeon, Barney Bigard, and Albert Nicholas. from http://www.redhotjazz.com
