Paul Giordimaina Trio, featuring Rino Cirinnà

One of the Maltese jazz scene’s more important figures and regular performers and host of the long-running Jazzline radio programme, pianist Paul Giordimaina (centre) will be accompanied by his favourite rhythm section, namely Mario Aquilina (left) on doublebass and Noel Grech on drums. The trio will play some original numbers before being joined by renowned Italian saxophone player Rino Cirinnà. This collaboration marks the beginning of a cultural exchange between the Malta Jazz Festival and the Sergio Amato festival in Canicattini Bagni, Sicily.

Al di Meola World Sinfonia, featuring Gonzalo Rubalcaba

World-class guitarist Al di Meola and the breathtaking pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba, two undisputed heroes of jazz, join forces for an unforgettable experience that could easily be one of this year’s jazz highlights. Combining passion, intelligence and outstanding technique, di Meola is a virtuoso whose rhythmically-charged flamenco and tango-inspired originals reveal his knack for beautiful, alluring melodies.

With eight Grammy nominations under his belt, Rubalcaba has proven himself as an established and versatile force in the modern jazz world with a propensity for melodious, rhythmic and exciting music. The line-up also includes guitarist Kevin Seddiki, accordionist Fausto Beccalossi and drummer Peter Kaszas.

Jeremy Pelt Quintet

Berklee graduate Jeremy Pelt arrived in New York in 1998, soon getting notic­ed by the city’s top musicians.

His first professional gig with the Mingus Big Band gave him a great opportunity to grow and he has since played with many jazz luminaries.

Pelt has played in various bands, including the Roy Hargrove Big Band, The Village Vanguard Orchestra and the Duke Ellington Big Band, and currently plays with the Lewis Nash Septet and The Cannonball Adderley Legacy Band featuring Louis Hayes. Voted Rising Star on the Trumpet five years in a row by Downbeat Magazine and the Jazz Journalist Association, Pelt will be accompanied in Malta by pianist David Bryant, drummer Gerald Cleaver, Roxy Coss on tenor sax and Dwayne Burno on doublebass.

Friday

Tigran Hamasyan Trio

New York-based Armenian pianist Tigran Hamasyan is considered one of today’s most vital and young original jazz artists; his dynamic songs shaped as much by experimentation as they are by rhythmic and harmonic diversity.

The 2006 winner of the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition, he finds inspiration from traditional Armenian folk music as well as poetry.

Challenging himself to find new ways to express himself through music, Hamasyan has successfully come up with a potent and imaginative sound that is built on tradition but exudes his personality and passion.

Hamasyan will be accompanied by Sam Minae on bass and Nate Wood on drums.

Terri Lyne Carrington’s The Mosaic Project

Media entrepreneur, composer, producer, drummer, Berklee professor, festival director and Grammy Award nominee – Terri Lyne Carrington is all of these; an established name in the music industry who has collaborated with everyone from Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter to Al Jarreau, Stan Getz and Dianne Reeves, among many others.

The Mosaic Project is a celebration of female artists, featuring some of today’s most celebrated female instrumentalists and vocalists; women with voices coming together to support and celebrate each other from a musical and social perspective. Carrington will be joined in Malta by Josh Hari (bass), Tineke Postma and Tia Fuller (saxophones), Nir Felder (guitar), Helen Sung (piano) and Dianne Reeves as special guest vocalist.

Saturday

Carlo Muscat and Alex Bezzina Project

This group was created as part of the Malta Jazz Festival’s initiative to create collaborations between Maltese and foreign jazz musicians.

It highlights Malta’s younger generation of jazz musicians, represented here by the up-and-coming tenor saxophonist Carlo Muscat and London-based trumpeter Alex Bezzina. Both musicians have gained ground rapidly within the jazz scene.

They will be joined onstage by Joe Debono, one of Malta’s most individual voices on the piano; Hungarian bass player Mátyás Szandai, who has collaborated with Chris Potter, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Ferenc Nemeth and Perico Sambeat among others, and Lionel Boccara, one of the most active drummers on the Parisian jazz scene.

Chano Dominguez’s Flamenco Sketches

Barcelona-based pianist Chano Dominguez has brilliantly fused flamenco with jazz to create his Flamenco Sketches – a striking and innovative interpretation of iconic trumpeter Miles Davis’s seminal work on Blue Note.

The project was commissioned by the Barcelona Jazz Festival in conjunction with the 50th anni­ver­sary of Davis’s Kind of Blue al­bum and was recorded live at Jazz Standard in New York in 2009.

Domínguez’s seven-song collection features all the Kind of Blue tracks and two of Davis’s most popular songs, Nardis and Serpent’s Tooth.

Alongside Dominguez, the line-up includes Daniel Navarro (dance), Blas Cordoba (voice), Felipe Cabrera (bass) and Guillermo McGill (drums).

Will Vinson and The World through My Shoes Quartet

Alto saxophonist and composer Will Vinson moved from London to New York City in 1999.

He has played with top names, including Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Ari Hoenig and Marcus Gilmore, and is a member of various NY ensembles.

He is an internationally-acclaimed artist, renowned both as a leader and a sideman, and has performed all over the world.

Vinson will be accompanied by Lage Lund (guitar), Joe Martin (bass) and Adam Cruz on drums.