The Malta Jazz Festival is happy to announce the programme of the Jazz on the Fringe, being organised in collaboration with Valletta 2018. This runs from 17th till 22nd July, and for which all shows are free.

Throughout the whole festival week, Valletta will resonate to the sound of jazz; the concerts will be held in front of the Parliament building at the entrance of the city at 12.30pm and will feature both established locals and upcoming musicians.

Clash magazine listed the Malta Jazz Festival as one of the world’s five greatest jazz festivals. The others are Monterrey, Montreal, Copenhagen and New Orleans.

Ths year’s festival is striving to make jazz as accessible as possible. Artistic Director Sandro Zerafa said, “The Malta Jazz Festival is reaching out. It is spreading its wings beyond Ta’ Liesse. Besides boasting a star-studded lineup featuring the best in contemporary jazz, the Malta Jazz Festival is branching out to Valletta’s streets and injecting creative energy in Malta’s growing jazz scene, in preparation for Valletta 2018. The impressive list includes ranging from Nicholas Payton’s blend of dialects of Afro-descent to Munir Hossn’s homage to the Brazilian north-eastern heritage and Al di Meola’s latin-infused fusion.

“The festival strives in its mission to promote this great art form in all its diversity and to stimulate the local scene through various outreach initiatives – street jam sessions, collaborations with international musicians, masterclasses and free concerts.”

Valletta Midday Jazz Concerts

Midday Jazz Concerts – from 17 till 22 July. Concerts will be held in front of the Parliament building at the entrance of the city at 12.30pm.

Monday 17th July

Walter Vella group

Walter Vella (sax/flute), Godwin Lucas (keyboards), Anthony Saliba (bass), Joe ‘Bibi’ Camilleri (drums)

Tuesday 18th July

Charles ‘City’ Gatt Quintet feat. Stjepko Gut

Stjepko Gut (trumpet), Rino Cirinnà (sax), Dominic Galea (piano), Yoni Zelnik (bass), Charles Gatt (drums)

Wednesday 19th July

Latina Melita

Alex Taylor (trumpet), Karl Galea (guitar), Diccon Cooper (bass), Manuel Pulis (drums)

Thursday 20th July

Glenville Group

Glen Montanaro (guitar), Dean Montanaro (bass), Joseph Camilleri (drums)

Friday 21st July

Marvin Gaerty Trio

Marvin Gaerty (guitar), Paul Giordimaina (piano), Charles Gatt (drums)

 

Saturday 22nd July

The Johann Strauss School of Music Jazz Combo

Christian Debono (vocals), Fabio Imbroll (guitar), Philip Borg Barthet (trombone), Samwel Grima (bass), Rafel Grima (drums)

Jazz on the Fringe

 

Jazz on the Fringe

Monday 11th July

Talbot&Bons (Skyparks, MIA)

Adrian ir-Russu Brincat – trumpet

Harry Eddleston – keyboards

Reuben Navarro – drums

 

Tuesday 18th July

Trabuxu (Valletta)

Stjepko Gut – trumpet

Joe Debono – piano

Yoni Zelnik – bass

Fred Pasqua – drums

 

Wednesday 19th July

Beer Kitchen (Skyparks MIA)

Marc Galea – guitar

Diccon Cooper – bass

Joseph Camilleri – drums

 

Wednesday 19th July

Jam Session at OffBeat Music Bar (106 Merchant Street, Valletta)

Rino Cirrinna – sax

Joe Debono – piano

Yoni Zelnik – bass

Fred Pasqua – drums

Masterclass

 

Masterclass 1 (two sessions) – The Modern Rhythm Section

Teachers: Fred Pasqua (France) / Yoni Zelnik (France / Israel)

Dates: 18 July 5pm, 19 July 5pm

 

Masterclass 2 (two sessions) – Jazz Guitar

Teacher: Romain Pilon (France)

Dates: 19 July 5pm, 21 July 5pm

 

Masterclass 3 – Rhythmical interpretation of the jazz language through the use of right syllables and the polyrhythmical approach to the rhythms of jazz

Teacher: Stjepko Gut (Serbia)

Date: 21 July 5pm

 

Masterclass 4 – For brass players only!

Teacher: Stjepko Gut (Serbia)

Date: 22 July 11am

 

Masterclass 5 – For sax players only!

Teacher: Rino Cirinná (Italy)

Date: 18 July 5pm

 

Masterclass 6 – Jazz for newcomers

Teacher: Rino Cirinná (Italy)

Date: 22 July 11am

 

Visit www.maltajazzfestival.org for more information. Tickets can be bought from https://www.showshappening.com/Arts-Council-Malta/Malta-Jazz-Festival-2017.

 

The Malta Jazz Festival is organised by Festivals Malta within Arts Council Malta in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice, Culture and Local Government and Valletta 2018; and supported by MTA, Cyberpass, MSV Life, Malta International Airport, Phoenicia, Farsons, Marsovin, Hertz and  Trabuxu.