Valletta Music Icon Maestro Vinny Vella Dies At 96
Born and bred in Valletta in 1928, Vinny enjoyed a 50-year career centred around the clarinet and saxophone.
His name became synonymous with iconic Valletta venues such as Strait Street, The Premier, Phoenicia, and Chalet.
“Maestro Vinny Vella Sr will be remembered as one of Malta’s leading musicians, with a career spanning from the 1940s to the early 1990s,” Vella’s grandson,* Jamie told Lovin Malta.
Vella was renowned as the frontman and director of his band ‘Vinny’s Blue Jackets’.
During his illustrious musical career, the Maestro performed alongside numerous local and international artists including Albano, Bobby Solo, and Wilma De Angelis.
According to his grandson, one of Vinny’s career highlights was performing at a ball attended by then-Princess Elizabeth during her time in Malta.
“To many, he will be remembered as the larger-than-life Maestro. To us, he was simply ‘nannu Vinny’ – the heart of our family. Thank you, nannu, for the love, wisdom, memories, and – thank you for the music,” Jamie wrote on social media.
As tributes pour in for the Maltese musical legend, Valletta councillor Ray Azzopardi described the loss to the locality as losing an “icon”.
Rest in peace, Vinny
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