Malta Jazz Festival

Over the last 12 years the Malta Jazz Festival has firmly established itself, attracting heavyweight performers and artists from across the globe. It is an opportunity and window for a fundamental and inspiring art-form to be appreciated both by those familiar with the genre, together with the many people whose musical ear may be less developed, and yet whose enthusiasm is by no means lessened by this. In other words an excited audience expecting to be entertained by the music, along with the social aspect of the event.

The task of compiling the programme of performers for the festival is not one I envy. Firstly there are of course budgetary restrictions, which immediately exclude many of the bigger guns. Secondly, touring schedules for these artists are usually determined many months in advance, so one hopes that an appearance in Malta will dovetail within a pre-existing European tour. Thirdly, there is of course the question of what musical and stylistic emphasis, and what "label" to give the festival. This I imagine is the starting point in the planning process, and I feel the most important factor. At what level does one pitch in, and what sort of audience is one trying to reach?

This year's JazzFest followed a similar pattern to the many previous ones I can remember. While I freely admit we arrived too late to catch either Diane Nalini on Saturday evening or the Armenian group on Sunday evening (both worth seeing, I gather), much of the music was either too obscure or too highbrow to connect with the majority of the audience.

A case in point was Don Byron on Saturday evening. His music is so filled with dissonance, seems to have no underlying structure, and consequently reaches no resolves. There were very few moments when there was any discernible harmony, and these were like a breath of fresh air when they fleetingly appeared.

But in the main, as with so many other experimental jazz ensembles, the musicians' main focus seemed to be to satisfy their own need for self-indulgence - with an aloof attitude, and little or no contact with the audience, many of whom had left by the end of their set.

A shame, since Oregon, who came on next, were far more accessible musically, and also connected immediately with the audience, with their laid-back approach and gentle humour. Although they ended their set with a free-form improvisation which promised to go off the rails initially, they brought it cleverly round to what I am sure was one of their exciting compositions.

On the final night the Michel Camilo Trio managed to build up an atmosphere of euphoria, with a combination of supreme technical virtuosity, rhythmic excitement, great dynamic contrast and lyrical melodies. In no way can his music be considered "dumbed-down", but as with all great artists, he has the ability to make a direct connection on a primal emotional and physical level with the listener, transcending the need for any intellectual or cerebral effort.

This is surely the aim of jazz music - to embrace the listeners, not to alienate them. Two years ago, a different kind of magical web was spun by the Zawinul Syndicate, with the help of the spiritually uplifting vocals of Amit Chaterjee, prompting me to post a review at the time on the Zawinul Website.

Of course, any opinion on these matters comes from a subjective standpoint, but the actions of the majority have to be taken note of. I realise that the brief of the JazzFest is not merely to see volume attendance at any cost - that can be left to the rave organisers. But, when year after year I see fairly normal people struggling and probably failing to make sense of what they are listening to, and then getting up to leave prematurely, I consider it a failure on the part of the organisers, and an opportunity missed.

As a professional composer myself I have studied musical analysis and contemporary composition for many years, and have been to numerous jazz gigs in many different settings, apart from having worked with some of the world's finest jazz musicians. But I still do not derive any pleasure from trying to desperately find some light within a dark forest.

I know I am not alone among the musical community in Malta in my views, and would hope that perhaps in future we can see a musical balance that better reflects the wishes of the faithful, making this fantastic event an even more outstanding landmark in the calendar.