Margherita Fava is a pianist, composer, arranger, bandleader, and educator based in Knoxville, Tennessee. She was born on October 16, 1995, 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 jazz and studio music at the University of Tennessee, studying piano with Eric Reed and composition with Gregory Tardy.

In March 2023, her debut album TATATU was released, featuring Gregory Tardy, Michael Reed, Javier Enrique and produced by Rodney Whitaker. The record received numerous positive reviews, including 4 stars on Downbeat and AllAboutJazz. The Italian magazine “Musica Jazz” named her among the “Top New Talents” of 2023.

Her second album "Murrina" (featuring Brandon Rose on bass and Jonathan Barber on drums), also gained recognition by the press on an international level since it came out in October 2025.

Since then, Margherita has toured nationally and internationally, bringing her music to many established venues and concert halls. When she isn’t on the road, Margherita focuses on mentoring the younger generations as co-director of the Knoxville Jazz Workshop, in collaboration with the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra and hosts the radio show “On Keys” on WUOT, Knoxville’s NPR station.

In 2026 she co-created Silk Jazz Festival, a music festival in Knoxville dedicated to the legacy of Jazz Messenger Donald “Silk” Brown featuring internationally acclaimed and local talent.