Alan Parsons seals off eclectic jazz festival

The curtain came down on the 16th edition of the Malta Jazz Festival with hundreds still shouting for more as Alan Parsons wrapped up his gig at 1.30 a.m. yesterday.

Backed by a tight band, all of whom took on lead vocals at one point or other, Alan Parsons played all his hit singles - from Eye In The Sky to Psychobabble and What Goes Up.

The group had the audience in its grasp, and in fits of laughter too when the guitarist let it be known he was half Maltese midway through the show and suddenly blurted "xi shana" (how hot it is).

The evening kicked off with Renzo Spiteri in a dynamic percussion project with three Chinese music professors to concoct a unique fusion of African, Indian and Chinese music.

The evening continued with a smooth rendition by Ian Ritchie who performed his Soho Project on saxophone, having two weeks earlier played with Roger Waters.

The line-up of performers during the three-day festival included the legendary Blues Brothers; the local band Noir; Thabani, often lauded as one of the finest soul bands in the UK; Bill Bruford's Earthworks with Tim Garland; and Tunnels, featuring Percy Jones and Emily Bezar.

For the first time in many years the festival underwent a series of changes, from shifting the venue to the Valletta Waterfront as opposed to Ta' Liesse, in Valletta, to new organisers - NnG Promotions took over from where Charles "City" Gatt had left. This caused the ire of many and jazz enthusiasts argued that music such as that of Alan Parsons did not classify as jazz, even though this was the gig that attracted most people.

Many jazz purists actually baulked at the line-up when the programme was launched and many had written letters to dismiss what they said was being presented to them under the pretence of jazz.

As a result of the organisers' decision to go mainstream, many of the jazz purists ended up boycotting the festival and familiar faces were nowhere to be seen.

When asked if the promoters were piggybacking on the reputation of the Malta Jazz Festival and should instead change the name, Nigel Camilleri, of NnG Promotions, said this was not the case.

"I really don't think so. If you look at renowned festivals, such as the Umbria Jazz Festival, you will realise that the idea is to bring a mixture of music and talent, while creating a chilled atmosphere. Elton John played at this festival and I dare say his music is not classified as jazz," Dr Camilleri said.

"I believe it was their loss really for those who chose to boycott the festival. I feel that if you have nothing but pure jazz on all three nights people will not come. Instead, we created a good mix and people who came to watch Alan Parsons also got a good dose of jazz from Ian Ritchie," he said.

Dr Camilleri pointed out that Saturday's line-up was nothing but a pure dose of jazz and it was the least attended of all three nights.

Overall, he deemed the event a success adding that while in the previous festivals about 700 to 800 a night attended, this year a total of 1,500 thronged to the festival on Friday, another 1,000 on Saturday and about 2,500 on Sunday.

"I think it went down well overall and the feedback was good from both the people and the performers. It's a learning curve. Next year we'll probably tweak it here and there but it will likely be based on the same format," he said.