Jazz on the Fringe in full swing

It’s jazz festival week in Malta which kicked off just last week – will continue well throughout July. Forming part of the larger Malta Jazz Festival, the fringe provides plenty of jazz for free throughout the festival.

From squares to bars and palaces, the sounds of jazzy music will fill Malta’s summer evenings with a festival atmosphere. ‘Jazz on the Fringe’, a programme of local jazz music, will bring together some of Malta’s renowned jazz musicians as well as international jazz artists to perform in various music venues, restaurants and bars around the island.

Part of the internationally-acclaimed Malta Jazz Festival, the programme features a series of events held in the days preceding and following the Malta Jazz Festival, created under the auspices of Arts Council Malta and sponsored by the Valletta 2018 Foundation.

Running from 17 to 19 July in the open-air setting of Ta’ Liesse, the Malta Jazz Festival – now in its 24th edition – will host some of the biggest names in jazz, including Mehliana (featuring Brad Mehldau and Mark Guiliana), Tom Harrell Colors of a Dream and Brecker Brothers Band Reunion ‘The Heavy Metal Bebop Tour’. Evenings will commence at 8pm.

Running for the fourth consecutive year as part of the main festival, the Fringe Festival aims to create an awareness of the Malta Jazz Festival and jazz music in general and further expand the scope of this internationally acclaimed festival through workshops and performances.

“The aim of Jazz on the Fringe is to stimulate the local jazz scene and expose Maltese audiences to jazz beyond the confines of Ta’ Liesse,” said Sandro Zerafa, artistic director of the Malta Jazz Festival and Jazz on the Fringe.

The daily festival programme kicked off on 8 July and will run until 26 July, excluding Malta Jazz Festival dates, with gigs typically commencing at 8.30pm till late. 

The Malta Jazz Contest will be the highlight of the Jazz on the Fringe festival, which will be held on 20 July at Fort St Elmo, Valletta. Five local finalists will participate in the competition for jazz soloists. The shortlisted musicians in this year’s Jazz Contest are Justin Galea, Carlo Muscat, Warren Galea, Sarah Marie Bugeja and Michelle Paris.

For more information log on to www.maltajazzfestival.org and https://www.facebook.com/maltajazzfestival