Spazju Kreattiv in Valletta was buzzing with musicians and music aficionados last weekend, as a number of jazz events under the Jazz Assemblea programme took place for the first time.
The new initiative by the National Agency for the Performing Arts (NAPA) was conceived to bring together local jazz community and to honour the beginnings of this music scene in Malta.
The multidisciplinary programme officially launched a few weeks prior with the opening of a photography exhibition curated by Ġużè Camilleri, telling the story of jazz beginnings on the island. The experience, also featuring a short 10-minute film about the late saxophonist Sammy Murgo in a dedicated section, runs until Tuesday, October 29.
The programme culminated in a series of events over four days, consisting of live concerts, workshops and a film premiere. The series kicked off on October 10 with a sold-out premiere of a docu-film, Strait Street to Abbey Road, about the life and career of Maltese drummer and percussionist Tony Carr. The film is produced by SUGU under the direction of Cedric Vella, based on a biography of Carr by Camilleri. Following great reviews, the film will be screened again on November 5 at the Spazju Kreattiv Cinema.
Over 40 local jazz musicians across 10 acts took to the stage between last Friday and Sunday, delighting audiences of all ages with original compositions, new takes on jazz standards and impressive solos. Each evening held four very different jazz acts back-to-back, some of whom collaborated for the first time for this initiative.
On Friday the premiere kicked off with Galea’s jazztet where compositions by established composer Ray Agius were arranged – after which Agius himself surprised the audience by performing a couple of numbers himself after many years of not performing.
On Saturday morning, the venue was buzzing with activity, as saxophonist Carlo Muscat and drummer William Smith led two music workshops, each about their respective instruments, to a group of budding musicians.
Malta School of Music’s Little Big Band, led by Alex Bezzina and Philip Attard, gave a short but powerful performance. A lunchtime concert rounded off the morning, combining four established jazz musicians, who perform offshore regularly, with a number of jazz bands.
Galea, who is the CEO of NAPA, led a discussion panel with Mro Paul Abela, Philip Fenech and Alex Grech, where the musicians reminisced about the jazz scene of the 1970s and the 1980s, a time where musicians used to play in hotels and get together at BJs in St Julian’s. They all discussed their beginnings in the music scene, and the heavy influences the late Charles ‘ic-City’ Gatt had on their careers. The discussion was aimed at documenting the stories of these musicians and the jazz scene in Malta.
The event came to a close with an evening of jam sessions where a number of upcoming musicians had the opportunity to perform with music veterans. Paul Giordimaina, Nadine Axisa, George Curmi (il-Pusè), Mariele Zammit, Kris Spiteri, Vinny Vella Jr,
Joe Bibi Camilleri, Oliver Degabriele, Angela Vella Zarb and Carlo Muscat were among those who participated.
A number of musicians also donated CDs of their work which were given against a donation, and €227 were raised in aid of the Malta Community Chest fund.
Thomas Camilleri compered the event.
Jazz Assemblea is the first of what is expected to be a series of events of this nature by NAPA, bringing together the music community, educating the young, researching, preserving and documenting music and stories for future generations.
The project was part of Spazju Kreattiv Programme 2024-2025, in collaboration with the Ministry for National Heritage, the Arts and Local Government, with the support of the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA) and APS Bank.