For those unaware, Margherita Fava, is a pianist, composer, arranger, bandleader, and educator based in Knoxville, Tenn.

She was born into a family of classical musicians in the small village of Follina in northeast Italy. Her parents are baroque specialists, her father a violinist and her mother a cellist and singer.

Fava started piano lessons at 10, picked up the electric bass as a teenager, and at 17 enrolled in a summer jazz program in nearby Venice sponsored by The New School from New York. One day she learned by ear Miles Davis’ solo on “So What” from Kind of Blue. It changed her life. “It was the most exciting thing that has ever happened to me!” she says.

A scholarship to Michigan State brought Fava to East Lansing, where she studied piano with Xavier Davis and came into the orbit of the charismatic bassist Rodney Whitaker. After graduating with a degree in jazz studies, she earned a master’s degree in music at the University of Tennessee, studying piano with Eric Reed and composition with Greg Tardy.

She currently collaborates with the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra on various projects like the concert series “NXT GEN” and the Knoxville Jazz Workshop.

In August 2022 she released her first EP of original music entitled “Okra/Search of the Unknown”, then in March 10th 2023 her debut album “TATATU” was released (featuring Gregory Tardy, Michael Reed and Javier Enrique), and now she brings us her sophomore album Murrina, releasing October 3rd, 2025.

1. No Clue
2. Keep On (feat. Bob Reynolds)
3. Intermezzo, Op. 117, No. 2
4. Murrina
5. Satin Doll
6. Yarn
7. Murrina Reprise
8. Foreshadow
9. Alter Ego (feat. Taber Gable, Jeff Babko)

This beautifully sculpted work of musical art opens on the dulcetly tuned No Clue and then brings us the spirited fervor of Keep On (featuring Bob Reynolds), the beautifully sculpted Intermezzo, Op. 117, No. 2, and then we are graced with the quietly fervent stature of the title track Murrina.

Along next is the free-flowing Satin Doll which is itself backed seamlessly by the more cultured Yarn, the statically-charged, lower registered reprise of the title track, the music rounding out on the late-night elegance of Foreshadow, closing on the funky keyboard work of Jeff Babko and additional piano work from Taber Gable that synth-tastically propels Alter Ego at every delicious turn.

While Randy Armstrong is often regarded as a global music ambassador — performing on guitars and diverse instruments from around the world — Echoes of Tomorrow takes a more direct, stripped-down approach. Without the sprawling concepts of his earlier albums, his lyrical guitar work shines with clarity.

Musicians:
Margherita Fava: piano, compositions, arrangements
Brandon Rose: upright and electric bass
Jonathan Barber: drums
Bob Reynolds: tenor saxophone
Taber Gable: synths
Jef Babko: synths and editing

Official Purchase Link

www.margheritafava.com