Festivals Malta Present the 33rd Edition Malta Jazz Festival

Festivals Malta and the Ministry for National Heritage, the Arts, and Local Government announced the 33rd edition of the Malta Jazz Festival.

The Malta festival will be held from July 10 until July 15. Renowned for its intention to create a synergy between upcoming and headlining musicians, The Malta Jazz Festival is a national and international highlight in the portfolio of festivals produced by Festivals Malta.

The festival launches on July 10 at the Embassy Hotel with an opening concert by Daniel Sant, William Smith, and Dean Montanaro. The festival week proceeds with evening concerts at the Valletta City Theatre featuring The New York Blue Quintet, which is known to be one of the most important exponents of the hard bop tradition, with the participation of New York’s finest Joe Magnarelli and Jeb Patton.
Sandro Zerafa, Artistic Director for Festivals Malta, shared: “The festival is unique in Europe, and it has steadily built a reputation as one of those rare cultural events that combines artistic excellence and popular appeal.”

“In an era where jazz festivals get watered down and stray away from jazz, the Malta Jazz Festival has maintained unfailing artistic integrity whilst attracting new audiences.”

One of the major headlining artists this year is the 23-year-old Grammy winner for “Best New Artist” and “Best Vocal Jazz Album” – Samara Joy. The highly anticipated and rising star’s vocal performance will be at Ta’ Liesse on July 14, also featuring emergent voice, saxophone player, and Blue Note artist Immanuel Wilkins.

The Malta Jazz Festival will also be hosting Raynald Colom, known to be one of the most respected trumpet players in the world, as well as Kurt Rosenwinkel’s quartet featuring Greg Hutchinson, Doug Weiss, and Nicola Andrio. The Laurent Coq Trio and leading male jazz vocalist, Kurt Elling, are also expected to make a return to the Malta Jazz Festival. Elling, and guitarist Charlie Hunter and band will be presenting their funk and soul project SUPERBLUE. Local Jazz veteran Paul Giordimaina and his trio will be paying homage to the late Charles ‘City’ Gatt while Ukraine-based Maltese saxophone player Carlo Muscat and his quartet will be performing music from Muscat’s album Wool.

Malta Jazz Festival – image courtesy of Dream Beach Media

The jam sessions have become an annual tradition, held at local jazz bar Offbeat, these free jam sessions contribute to fostering an accessible jazz community. The festival provides jazz enthusiasts and aspiring musicians with the opportunity to attend free masterclasses with professional jazz musicians offering key insights on jazz styles and techniques – this year the festival will be providing masterclasses by Immanuel Wilkins, Laurent Coq, Francesco Ciniglio, Jep Patton & John Magnarelli (Blue Note Collective) amongst others.

The Malta Jazz Festival will be held in Valletta, Malta, from July 10–15, 2023. For more information visit: www.festivals.mt/mjf

About Malta

Malta and its sister islands of Gozo & Comino, an archipelago located in the middle of the Mediterranean, are home to a most remarkable concentration of intact built heritage, including the highest density of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in any nation-state anywhere. Valletta, built by the proud Knights of St. John, is one of the UNESCO sites and the European Capital of Culture for 2018. Malta’s patrimony in stone ranges from the oldest free-standing stone architecture in the world, to one of the British Empire’s most formidable defensive systems, and includes a rich mix of domestic, religious and military architecture from the ancient, medieval and early modern periods. With superbly sunny weather, attractive beaches, a thriving nightlife and 8,000 years of intriguing history, there is a great deal to see and do.

For more information on Malta, visit www.visitmalta.com.

SEEN IN MAIN IMAGE: Malta Jazz Festival, – image courtesy of Darrin Zammit Lupi

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