MARGHERITA FAVA “Murrina”

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ARTIST

Margherita Fava

ALBUM TITLE

“Murrina”

LABEL

Caligola

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In the wake of a brilliant debut, expectations for a second album are always high, and the risk of disappointment is never far off. Fortunately, this is not the case with Margherita Fava. The pianist’s debut – “Tatatu”, released three years ago – received positive reviews both in the Italian press (we also covered it in the May 2023 issue of Musica Jazz) and in international specialised magazines, particularly in the United States. This is hardly surprising, considering that the young musician – thirty years old, born in the province of Treviso – has chosen to settle in Knoxville, the third largest city in Tennessee after Nashville and Memphis.

Whereas on her previous record, also released on Caligola, she led with assurance a quartet enriched by the presence of tenor saxophonist and clarinettist Greg Tardy, here she opts for the more classic piano trio format, poised between exploration and tradition. In “Murrina”, the trio expands only once, when Bob Reynolds joins on tenor saxophone in “Keep On”. Elsewhere, the Venetian improviser allows her instrument to take flight, engaging on equal terms with a rhythm section born in the USA: Brandon Rose on bass and Jonathan Barber – who has performed alongside Pat Metheny and Christian McBride – a drummer capable of finely chiselled work.

Among the six original compositions, several stand out: the title track, dedicated to Tom Harrell, with a bass line that quotes Luigi Tenco’s “Un giorno dopo l’altro”; “Yarn”, a spacious, blues-tinged ballad, harmonically well resolved; and “Foreshadow”, one of Fava’s earliest pieces, inspired by the style of Cedar Walton, one of her key reference points. A thumbs up as well for the rendition of Ellington’s “Satin Doll”, taken at a slightly brisker tempo, and for the graceful reworking of Brahms’s Intermezzo Op. 117 No. 1.

For the record, the title “Murrina” refers to the glassmaking art of Murano: a tiny microcosm of glass, already beautiful in itself, but made even more fascinating when combined with others to form a single jewel. And this is precisely what happens in good jazz, when the coming together of different instruments and musicians results not in simple addition, but in multiplication.

Ivo Franchi

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