By now, all local jazz enthusiasts know the 21st edition of the Malta Jazz Festival is to be held at the picturesque location of Ta’ Liesse in Valletta on July 14, 15 and 16.
Bringing together musicians from Jamaica, Brazil, Africa, the Middle East and the Mediterranean, this year’s edition is probably the most eclectic to date, and as has been the case in recent years, The Sunday Times will be taking a closer look at each of the artists who are performing.
The first of these is Blue Note recording artist Ambrose Akinmusire, who will be taking the stage on Friday, July 15.
A winner of the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz competition, trumpet player Akinmusire was born and raised in Oakland, California.
He was first noticed when he formed part of the Berkeley High School Jazz Ensemble, with saxophonist Steve Coleman eventually hiring him as a member of his Five Elements band and taking him on an extensive European tour.
The experience proved to be inspiring, with Akinmusire not only pursuing further musical studies under the tutelage of Terence Blanchard, Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock, but also seeking to develop a style of his own. This he did by listing all the things he didn’t want to sound like or be restricted by; self-applied rules that often led to him ignoring what some of his teachers asked of him. It was an approach that worked because, in Akinmusire’s own words, “It really made me learn who I was because I had to defend (my rules) every day”.
If further proof of his growing talent was needed, it came in the shape of his debut recording, Prelude to Cora, which not only led to work with significant jazz artists such as Esperanza Spalding, Vijay Iyer and Aaron Parks, but also landed him a deal with the prestigious Blue Note Records, whose president, Bruce Lundvall, saw in Akinmusire “the kind of musician that jazz needs more of”.
Earlier this year, Akinmusire released a new album, When the Heart Emerges Glistening, which has further consolidated his standing as one of the names to look out for in the jazz world.
Featuring tenor saxophonist Walter Smith III, pianist Gerald Clayton, bassist Harish Raghavan, and drummer Justin Brown alongside Akinmusire, the quintet blends its members’ individual qualities into a collective sound that the New York Times called “limber, straight-ahead jazz with mystery and pop instincts”. Meanwhile the Los Angeles Times recently named Akinmusire one of their 2011 ‘Faces to Watch’, describing him as “less like a rising star than one that was already at great heights and just waiting to be discovered”.
www.maltajazzfestival.org