Mario 'Harp' Lorenzi was born on May 29, 1894, in Florence, Tuscany, Italy, and died on June 1, 1967, in London, England, UK. He was a prominent harpist in the 1930s, known for his versatility in styles ranging from classical to ragtime and jazz. Mario was the son of Giorgio Lorenzi, a composer and harp teacher, and began playing the harp at the age of four. By 1908, he had received his diploma in harp and became an honorary member of the Royal Academy of Music in Florence.

The Lorenzi family moved to London in 1909, where Mario gained fame as the "King of Harpists," known for being the only syncopated harpist in Europe. In the 1920s, he lived in Kensington and married a woman with the maiden name Lachlan in 1923. He joined Jay Whidden's band in 1926, where he played alto sax, clarinet, and notably, the harp on recordings, marking one of the earliest appearances of the harp in dance band music.

Throughout the 1930s, Mario made recordings under his own name, demonstrating the harp's potential in a dance band setting. He was forced to stop playing in 1957 due to arthritis and passed away in Rushton, Hertfordshire, at the age of 73. Mario Lorenzi was a pioneering figure in integrating the harp into jazz and popular music, paving the way for future harpists in these genres.