It’s been a super-busy few weeks for Malta Jazz Festival’s artistic director Sandro Zerafa who, after receiving the go-ahead as the C-word scenario became more stable, went into overdrive to make sure this year’s edition, (which by the way is the 30th edition) is as vivid and memorable as ever.

Zerafa has been the artistic mind behind the festival since 2009, and despite all systems on go, he managed to have a reminiscent sit down with writer Ramona Depares.

Modest roots and ambition visions

“I wanted to present a panorama of jazz music without deviating too much from its roots. I wanted to present jazz in all its sub-genres without forgetting that it is essentially black American music. I wanted to achieve that balance between the popular and the ‘art’ side of jazz,” he told Depares.

It is a vision that has over the decades solidified into a trademark. Today, Malta Jazz Festival is a no-brainer for jazz fanatics and your local music head alike, and it has even made it to the international music festival circuit.

“For me, it has always been vital not to deviate from the jazz element of the festival. The term, nowadays, has become a loose misnomer for any kind of music festival, which is really absurd. I would say that most festivals have done a lot of harm to this music, in a perverse kind of way. The bigger the festival, the less space there is for real jazz. I made it a priority for the Malta Jazz Festival to avoid those pitfalls,” he continued.

It’s not hard to understand its story of success when you consider Zerafa’s creative vision and background.

“I put the music above everything else and can easily sift through the layers of bullshit in the music business to understand what is essential. In the next decade, I would love to see the festival spread over the whole year. I dream of Malta becoming the hub for jazz in the Mediterranean,” he adds.

A hub for jazz and budding place for young jazz musicians to emerge – that’s something we would definitely like to see – and it’s the result of this festival.

We’re rooting for this, Zerafa, and with his invaluable pedigree, we know this vision is tangible. Beginning humbly with small gigs around the island, his move to Lyon, France in 1998 is what truly paved the way for his international engagements, performances and achievements.

Not to brag on his behalf, but Zerafa is a multiple winner at the prestigious La Defense National Jazz Contest.  Or how about touring pretty much worldwide, in France, Belgium, Italy, South Korea, Brazil, Switzerland, Cyprus, Greece, Malta, Turkey just to name a few.

The godfather who started it all

It is this true passion for excellence in music that grounds the Malta Jazz Festival. In fact, the event itself was founded back in 1991 by local jazz legend Charles ‘City’ Gatt, who held the role of artistic director for 19 years.

Whilst Gatt has pretty much become synonymous with local jazz, it doesn’t stop there. The godfather of Malta’s jazz has also played at London’s Royal Festival Hall and the Barbican Centre, the North-South Encounter in the Netherlands, as a regular percussionist with Boston’s Melrose Symphony Orchestra, the Kathmandu Jazz Festival in Nepal, the Ortigia Jazz Festival, the Tollwood Festival in Munich… Basically, if its anything to do with Jazz, you can bet Gatt has something to do with it.

Today, Charles is a member of the European art group ‘Frequenzen’, touring various countries, but his love for the festival he founded remains. He recounts one of his favourite stories from author Thomas Pynchon, inextricably tied to the bars in Strait Street, Valletta.

“In his book V, Thomas Pynchon mentions a bar in the city, the Metro. Local musicians who are my seniors, some of whom are not with us anymore, frequented this bar routinely and took part in jam sessions alongside American and British musicians who came to Malta on battleships and planes. This is when jazz was introduced to the island – it started in New Orleans in the same environment more than 120 years ago,” he says.

Many years later, Charles remembers, he started organising jazz concerts on the island as part of MaltaFest.

“This happened when Joe Attard was artistic director at the department of culture. Dr Michael Frendo, who later became parliamentary secretary for culture, came up with the idea to organise a local, fully-fledged jazz festival. We had a budget to work with and I was told that I would be responsible for everything.”

“At the time, I did not know that this would include the choice of artists, security, sponsors, merchandise, bar, food stalls and every logistical aspect, including cleaning up and the supply of garbage bins,” he says with a chuckle.

This is no easy feat, considering social media didn’t exist and mobile phones aren’t what they are now.

“The first thing I did was visit the Soho Jazz Festival to watch Elvin Jones, Michel Petrucciani and Robin Jones, a percussionist whose music I already knew. These were the first artists I booked for the very first festival. I also wanted to book Chick Corea, but this proved to be a long struggle as the piano he wanted was not available on the island,” Charles reminisces.

Luckily, Chick Corea’s management came through, and they managed to get the piano from Italy together with an Italian piano tuner.

And voilà: the iconic festival was born.

Right from the start, Charles says, the idea was to explore a variety of styles and genres to satisfy both jazz enthusiasts and newcomers.

“My choice of venue was immediately the old Marina in the Grand Harbour (known as Ta’ Liesse). After a few consultations about sound and logistics, we rightly assumed that this location would please both the audience and the artists. When Chick Corea came up on stage and took one look at the Grand Harbour, that was when he uttered that famous quote.”

Thirty years on, the location remains iconic to the festival.

The first edition of the festival immediately kicked off with a legendary line up, which today has solidified into a yearly tradition.

“We were planning to build an event that would keep up the same standard in all areas of the organisation. And artists who played at our festival still describe the Grand Harbour as an exquisite venue when they talk about their experience at the Malta Jazz Festival. We have had Charlie Hayden playing with a string ensemble from the Johann Strauss School of Music led by Nadia Debono.”

“We also had seminars and masterclasses by Andy Jaffe, Gabriele Comeglio, Emilio Soana, Rino Cirinna, Dino Rubino, Stjepko Gut. Occasionally, we had Maltese singers accompanied by international musicians. The school of Music also had jazz ensembles and a big band which participated in the Malta Jazz festival, accompanying international soloists,” Charles recounts.

With this kind of lineage, it is no wonder that the Jazz Festival supported young jazz musicians and strengthened the jazz following in Malta.

The Malta Jazz Festival is organised by Festivals Malta and runs until July 18. For a full programme, you can visit www.festivals.mt/mjf or check their Facebook page.