Giovanna Joyce Imbesi (died 2019), was an American

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instr ...

. She embarked on her first national tour with

Yanni Yiannis Chryssomallis ( el, Γιάννης Χρυσομάλλης; born November 14, 1954), known professionally as Yanni ( ), is a Greek-American composer, keyboardist, pianist, and music producer. Yanni continues to use the musical shorthand ...

in 1987 to promote his album, '' Out of Silence'', and performed during the " Yanni 1988 Concert Series" and "

Reflections of Passion ''Reflections of Passion'' is the first compilation album and sixth album overall by Greek keyboardist and composer Yanni, released on May 15, 1990 by Private Music. It is a selection of tracks from his five previous studio albums, released betwe ...

" concert tours. During this time she played alongside such musicians as

John Tesh John Frank Tesh (born July 9, 1952) is an American pianist and composer of pop music, as well as a radio host and television presenter. He hosts the ''Intelligence for Your Life'' radio show. In addition, since 2014, he has hosted ''Intelligen ...

and Charlie Adams, and with various symphony orchestras such as the

San Francisco Chamber Orchestra The San Francisco Chamber Orchestra (SFCO) is a professional chamber orchestra in San Francisco, California, that presents small orchestra and chamber ensemble performances in the Bay Area. The SFCO was founded by Emanuel Leplin in 1952.Progra ...

, the

Dallas Symphony Orchestra The Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Dallas, Texas. Its principal performing venue is the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in the Arts District of downtown Dallas. History The orchestra traces its origins to a ...

, and the

Minneapolis Symphony The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded originally as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, the Minnesota Orchestra plays most of its concerts at Minneapolis's Orchestra Hall. History Em ...

. During the following years, she worked with a number of performers including

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer, actress and businesswoman. LaBelle is referred to as the " Godmother of Soul". She began her career in the early 1960s as lead singe ...

Jeffrey Osborne Jeffrey Linton Osborne (born March 9, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and lyricist. He is the former drummer and lead singer of the American R&B/soul group L.T.D., with whom he began his musical career in 1970. Biography Earl ...

Sheila E. Sheila Cecilia Escovedo (born December 12, 1957) better known under the stage name Sheila E., is an American percussionist and singer. She began her career in the mid-1970s as a percussionist and singer for The George Duke Band. After leaving t ...

Toni Childs Toni Childs (born October 29, 1957) is an American-Australian singer-songwriter. She is best known for her songs "Don't Walk Away" (a Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 hit in the United States in 1988), "I've Got to Go Now", a Top 5 hit ...

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, Narada Michael Walden and

Andy Summers Andrew James Summers (born 31 December 1942), is an English guitarist who was a member of the rock band The Police. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a band member in 2003. Summers has recorded solo albums, collaborated w ...

with whom she toured internationally. Following another national road tour with saxophonist

Dave Koz David Stephen Koz (born March 27, 1963) is an American smooth jazz saxophonist, composer, record producer, and radio personality based in California. Early life Dave Koz was born in Encino, California, to Jewish parents: Norman, a dermatologist ...

, she released her first album in 2006, ''Short Stories: Piano Music for Healing, Meditation and Relaxation.'' In 1982, Giovanna Joyce founded Kimball's Jazz Club in San Francisco with Joe Henderson and Joanne Brackeen as the first performance. Jazz artists performing at Kimball's featured Stan Getz, Charlie Haden, McCoy Tyner, Earl Fatha Hines, Denny Zeitlin, Pete Escovedo and many other legendary jazz musicians. Imbesi recounts "I was playing piano during dinner and at 8pm everyone left for the opera or symphony. I suggested to owner Kimball Allen that we have some jazz and he said OK. That's how Kimball's Jazz began, and I was booking the artists and essentially running the marketing, sound and graphics."

References

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External links

Giovanna Imbesi at MySpace

20th-century American keyboardists 2019 deaths Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-keyboardist-stub

See also

References

External links