Giavanna Foster: Teen Jazz Guitarist on the Rise By: Belinda Ware
Female Jazz Guitarists are a rarity in the world of jazz especially in today’s market. With Emily Remler in the ‘70s, Joyce Cooling in the 80’s, and Mimi Fox at the top of the millennium, the three stand out as the most notable Ladies of Strings in their respective eras. It was only a matter of time before a new female guitarist would come up through the ranks of Jazz to gain recognition in the global jazz community in today’s market.. 602 Magazine has found a refreshing new artist who is making waves as a new jazz guitarist on the rise. Giavanna Foster walked into our interview with a vintage Sebring guitar in a fender case and a humble, graceful demeanor. Giavanna lives and breathes Straight Ahead and Contemporary Jazz. In a recent interview with the teen jazz artist, Giavanna shared this about her discovery of jazz. “I remember when I was 6 years old and I heard Wes Montgomery on the radio for the first time. The song was The Thumb. I fell in love with jazz on that day. “ Giavanna, a Spelling Bee champion throughout her education in elementary through high school years, has found comfort in her educational journey through exploring jazz and embracing it. “Jazz inspires me so much. It helps me to relax when I am studying for tests in school or when I go out for a morning walk at sunrise. It’s like doing math… an ongoing discovery process” She joyfully recalled the first time playing jazz on her instrument of choice, the guitar”I picked up an acoustic guitar that belonged to my mom and I took on the challenge. I began to find the chords and the notes through listening to Wes Montgomery’s’ The Thumb several times on YouTube. Finding the chords is a humbling experience. It happens when you least expect it to.” In her journey of finding jazz, she has evolved to become one of L.A.’s most notable teen jazz guitarists on the rise with performances at the Gardena Jazz Festival, Catalina Jazz Club, the Nokia, an on air performance on the popular Fox News Morning Show, Good Day L.A. with Steve Edwards across from X Factor’s Melanie Amaro.
and found herself standing next to a legend who she describes as “the greatest jazz guitarist on the planet”, Mr. George Benson. It was in that moment that Benson took to the microphone to share about his discovery of jazz as a teenager and how he himself was mentored by John Coltrane and Wes Montgomery. Benson introduced Giavanna on the microphone by sharing with the festival crowd, “An African American girl and a jazz guitarist. That’s what I’m talking about. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the future of jazz and this is what we have to support”. A surreal experience for the teen guitarist to recall. “I couldn’t believe it. What I mean is, it took a minute to sink in that George Benson was on stage with me and introduced me to perform. I was so grateful and so thankful for that moment to meet him. He is a Master when it comes to Jazz. His gifts in interpreting jazz in his creative arrangements in both solos and rhythm guitar are amazing to listen to. When he plays a song, it never sounds the same way twice. It’s so in the moment. He’s a genius”. When asked about what she was thinking about during her performance, Giavanna shared, “I played that day to honor the Music of Wes Montgomery. I played that day to honor the wonderful opportunity to be on stage with Mr. Benson as he is my true inspiration when it comes to jazz guitar. I played that day to share the love for the institution of jazz which is universal in its ability to inspire hope.” In addition to her live performances, Giavanna is taking on the new role of stepping on board as the Ambassador for the Arts Nonprofit, Next Student Academy for the Arts, a nonprofit that specializes in supporting gifted youth in music and the arts. “If I can make a difference in the lives of other teens and kids out there, through playing jazz to fundraise and to mentor other teens in music, that to me is what jazz is all about. It means something so much more when you can inspire someone to look inside of themselves and discover what’s inside”.
Giavanna shared that the highlight of her experiences in jazz to date came about a few months ago when she was invited to fly in to perform live at the International Jazz Day Jazz Festival under the wing of UNESCO in Phoenix, Arizona. It was there at this global concert setting that she stood in the wings at Cityscape amongst jazz giants like Papa John De Francesco, George Benson, and National Recording Artist, Nayo Jones. Giavanna took to the stage to perform a song she fell in love with as a child, Wes Montgomery’s “Bumpin on Sunset”, this time on a vintage Sebring that she calls, “Bobby” honoring one of her mentors, Bobby Martin. She played lead solos and octaves with her thumb in her own unique approach that she discovered was originally coined by the great Wes Montgomery. On that stage she spoke about honoring the music of Wes Montgomery
By: Sarah Foster