adEIdJ – Associazione delle Etichette Indipendenti di Jazz

Press Release

«Murrina» the second album by Margherita Fava, a pianist and composer born in 1995 in Follina, near Treviso, Italy, and now based in Knoxville, Tennessee. Released nearly three years after «Tatatu» — where she led a quartet featuring saxophonist Gregory Tardy — this new recording documents the clear artistic maturity of the young Italian musician, this time at the helm of a trio. Her debut release was met with critical acclaim, earning four stars from both DownBeat and All About Jazz in the Unites States, while the Italian magazine Musica Jazz named her among the most promising young talents of 2023. A murrina, a symbol of the glass–making tradition of the Venetian Island of Murano, is a tiny glass microcosm whose beauty lies not only in its individual pattern, but in the way it contributes to a greater whole as it’s the case with the pieces on an album, or the instruments in an ensemble. 

«Murrina» comprises nine tracks, six of them original. The remaining three are Satin Doll, among Duke Ellington’s best–known themes, a reworking of a celebrated piano sonata by Johannes Brahms — a personal nod to her parents, both classical musicians – and Alter Ego, by Memphis pianist James Williams. Among Fava’s own compositions, both the title track dedicated to trumpeter Tom Harrell and its brief reprise deserve mention: a playful sonic fragment captured accidentally by the sound engineer, but one that reveals the session’s atmosphere, the empathy and magical alchemy among the musicians more than any polished take could. Foreshadow, one of Fava’s earliest pieces, originated as an exploration of triads and shows her affinity with the pianist Cedar Walton. Keep On features a fine guest appearance by Bob Reynolds’s Brecker–influenced dynamic tenor sax. The closing track Alter Ego is perhaps the album’s most unexpected chapter. Brandon Ross switches to electric bass, ending on a driving 7/8 vamp and returning to the piece’s opening melody. The contribution of Taber Gable and especially Jeff Babko on synthesizers adds layers of color that expand the trio’s rich palette.

Track List

1) No Clue
2) Keep On
3) Intermezzo, Op. 117, No. 1 (Johannes Brahms)
4) Murrina
5) Satin Doll (Duke Ellington)
6) Yarn
7) Murrina Reprise
8) Foreshadow
9) Alter Ego (James Williams)

All compositions, unless otherwise noted, by Margherita Fava 

Personnel

Margherita Fava (piano)
Brandon Rose (upright & electric bass)
Jonathan Barber (drums)

Guests:
Bob Reynolds (tenor sax) on track n. 2
Jeff Babko, Taber Gable (synthesizers) on track n. 9 

Recording Data

Recorded in 2025 at Stone Soup Studios, Maumee, Ohio (USA), by Eric Sills; mixed and mastered by Chris Allen; editing by Eric Sills except track n. 8 by Jeff Babko.