The Malta Jazz Festival turns 21 this year, and at this important time it will accompany its audience on a world trip in what is probably the most eclectic line-up in its young life.
To be held in Ta’ Liesse in Valletta between July 14 and 16, this year’s participants include a mix of influences from the Caribbean to the Middle East, with big jazz names such as guitarist João Bosco and trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire.
After having meddled with some commercial music in its teens, this year’s festival flirts with ethnic and folk influences but the jazz soul remains there, according to artistic director Sandro Zerafa, now in his third year of directing the festival.
The festival will open with guitarist Lionel Loueke from Benin, a Blue Note recording artist and a frequent collaborator of Herbie Hancock.
His blend of jazz and African elements will be followed by one of the highlights of this year’s festival, Monty Alexander and the Harlem-Kingston Express, who melds reggae and calypso influences from his native Jamaica with the obligatory jazz.
Friday will be cutting-edge, with Ambrose Akinmusire taking the stage, another Blue Note recording artist and a winner of the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition.
He will be followed by Brazilian legend João Bosco, whose range encompasses samba, bossa nova and Música Popular Brasileira, who will be here for the third time.
Eclectic turns electronic on the last day as sax player Seamus Blake presents his new electro/groove project featuring drummer Jorge Rossy.
The festival will close with virtuoso bassist and vocalist Avishai Cohen, whose blend of jazz, Mediterranean and Middle-Eastern influences has made him a prominent figure in world of jazz today. “Bassists who sing tend to be in fashion,” Mr Zerafa quips, referring to last year’s line-up which included Richard Bona and Esperanza Spalding, both of whom filled both roles impeccably.
The jazz festival is also being used to expand the horizons of local musicians, who collaborate with international artistes to perform on the Ta’ Liesse stage.
Nadine Axisa and a mixed band playing Latin jazz will warm up the audience on the first night while Dominic Galea and a nine-piece band are playing on the second night and guitarist Marc Galea and his quintet perform on the final one.
Speaking yesterday during the launch, culture and tourism parliamentary secretary Mario de Marco said the festival had put Malta in the jazz circuit. The government, he said, was trying to create holiday packages based on the festival.
This year, studies will be carried out on stage positioning to improve the acoustics at the festival.
Single tickets are available at €20 while block tickets will be selling at €40.
Students and over-60s can buy tickets at €12 and €30 respectively, while children under 12 enter free.
www.maltajazzfestival.org