European Capital of Culture or Malta’s Disneyland?

 

So how are we going to show the world what a cultural city Valletta truly is, since it has been appointed the European Capital of Culture 2018?

I am all for encouraging children’s creativity and of course they should be involved in cultural events, but seriously, “a roller coaster around Valletta, a water fight at the Palace Armoury and a water slide at St George’s Square”?

This was suggested by nine –year-olds at an event organised by the Valletta 2018 Foundation, and splashed across the Malta Times news pages.

The idea apparently was to encourage children to come up with ideas for the celebrations. I am not sure how the two actors facilitating the event went about doing it, but it seems to me that the children are all going to be so disappointed when it turns out that in fact turning Valletta into Disneyland isn’t really what the event is all about.

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Birds are meant to fly

not be shot down.
sign the petition if you agree
Call for ban of bird hunting and trapping in Malta Petition | GoPetition

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Deflecting the fire and brimstone brigade

Oh please, can we have a Maurice Williamson in our Parliament. For those who have not seen the video, I shall explain why. The man makes a political broadcast fun to watch. I had begun to think of what I could present you with on this Sunday, yearning for a humorous angle. But nothing with a touch of wit came to mind.

The over large bendy buses that keep clogging up our roads have been done to death, so no inspiration there. Although we will certainly have more stories to come on the road hoggers later. I just wish one of our new Cabinet ministers, Joe Mizzi responsible for Transport and Infrastructure, would follow London mayor Boris Johnson’s lead and send them back where they came from.

And if karrozzini (horse dawn cabs) are in his portfolio, which I guess as a form of transport they are, he could get their drivers to put nappies on their horses (which the previous administration failed to do) and not park them on busy corners. As I had mentioned in July last year, one of our great streets leading in to Valletta Misrah l-Assedju l- Kbir(Great Siege Street) that has a panoramic view of Manoel Island and Marsamxetto Harbour should be renamed “Horse Shit Street”, it is disgusting. Please, “New Cool Labour” can you fix it?

Also, could Mr Mizzi get the Environment Landscaping Consortium to stop hacking our trees to bits? There seems to be a bit of a dichotomy (splitting the branches), with landscaping falling under his portfolio rather than Leo Brincat’s Ministry for Sustainable Development, the Environment and Climate Change.

So, you get my drift, I have not really got you smiling have I. But then Mr Williamson fell into my lap, well not exactly but on my laptop. He is a New Zealand Member of Parliament who was about to vote in favour of the Marriage Equality bill, i.e. gay marriage, and was saying why. Even if one does not agree with what the bill is proposing, his witty delivery of why he thinks the bill should pass was worth watching.

His opening, self-deprecatory line to the speaker, “I too will be taking a split call, as a sort of the young and the vibrant as opposed to the old and the boring”, had already got the House laughing, demonstrating that he was going to be anything but boring. He referred to the way one learns to deflect the fire and brimstone brigade and quoted a “reverend” in his locality who said, “The gay onslaught will start the day after this bill is passed.”

To which he responded, “We are really struggling to know what this onslaught will look like. We don’t know whether they will come down the highway as a series of troops, or whether it will be a gas that flows in overhead and block us all in.” His gestures of course enhanced the effect.

This reminded me of the scare tactics that were put about when divorce was about to be introduced here. “Marriage with divorce will stay valid until the woman’s size grows beyond 10”, was a classic line promoted by a female doctor who formed part of the anti-divorce brigade.

The Bishop of Gozo had linked divorce with abortion, telling a pro-life activity that research showed that there was a link between ‘unstable families’ and abortion. “Where the family is united, pregnancy is likely to be accepted and celebrated, but where the family is broken, such as in the case of divorced parents, there is a higher probability that life is refused and threatened,” was his astounding outpouring. This utter codswallop had not persuaded the Maltese not to vote in favour of divorce.

Mr Williamson was also told, by a Catholic priest, that he was supporting an unnatural act. “I found that quite interesting coming from someone who took an oath of celibacy for his whole life,” he said, provoking more hilarity. He could have put the boot in and added that we all have seen what that can lead to, but he didn’t.

He said that he “found some of the bullying tactics really evil”, and haven’t we seen some of that here, but he also spoke of the genuine unease of “the moderates, who were really concerned what this (the bill) would do to the fabric of our society, I respect their concern,” he said.
He sought to put their mind at rest, “All we are doing with this bill is allowing two people who love each other to have that love recognised by way of marriage, that is all we are doing. We are not declaring nuclear war on a foreign state. We are not bringing a virus in that could wipe out our agricultural sector forever.

“The sun will still rise tomorrow... you will not have skin diseases or rashes... So don’t make this into a big deal.” As he came to the end of his speech, he read out one of the overboard messages he received, “This bill was the cause of our drought.” This again reminded me of our very own, “Divorce – God doesn’t want it” and gave Mr Williamson a colourful closure, “ Anyone following my Twitter account will know that this morning, it was pouring with rain. We had this enormous big gay rainbow right across my electorate. It has to be a sign,” he concluded, adding a quote from the Bible, “Be ye not afraid.”

He even persuaded his 90-year old-mother that supporting the bill was the right thing to do. His speech was picked up by news outlets from Australia, America and beyond. He has even had calls from news sites in Germany, Sweden and France asking for the transcript so they can translate it for their readers. The video can be seen on http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10878731

Published in the Malta Independent on Sunday 21/04/13

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The big jazz event of the year

I caught up with SANDRO ZERAFA who was in Malta to promote the Jazz festival in July 

Jazz guitarist and composer Sandro Zerafa has been the artistic director of the Malta Jazz Festival since 2009. He was born and grew up in Rabat. Married with one son he now lives and works in Paris. He does not come from a musical family, he told me, but his older brother, Ramon, was passionate about music and that must have rubbed off because Sandro started strumming the guitar at eight years of age, when he was listening to a lot of the Beatles music.

He got really serious about his guitar playing at about 12 years of age. After several years of classical guitar studies, Sandro found himself in a musical midpoint; he was listening to Sonic Youth, Heitor Villa-Lobos and Miles Davis at the same time. He belongs to the ‘rock’ generation, when bands like Velvet Underground were the rage. However, following this post-adolescent crisis he dedicated himself to jazz. His music collection now consists of 80 per cent jazz. He started gigging with the late Nicky Doublet, Bernard Scerri and Charles City Gatt, he told me.

Sandro graduated with Honours in music at the Malta University in 1997, then moved to - what he informed me is the capital of the tripe sausage - Lyons in 1998. He carried on with his studies at the Lyons conservatory and graduated with medaille d’ore and Diploma in Music. “I discovered Ornette Coleman while eating more tripe sausage and decided to move to Paris in search of further mental disequilibrium,” he joked.

“In France, most of the things are centralized in the capital. After spending two years in Lyon, it seemed natural to move to the capital. Although Lyon is a pleasant city, Paris has definitely more work opportunities and it attracts jazz musicians from all over the world,” he told me. However, Paris is an expensive city and can be lonely to live in. I wondered how he was getting on there.

“At first I knew no one in Paris, I was pretty shy and the first year was quite bizarre. Later I came across musicians like David Prez, who I knew in Lyons, Olivier Zanot, Yoni Zelnik and David Georgelet and we started working on projects together. I also started playing as a sideman on different projects. He still hasn’t figured out how to attain his financial goals, but he has learnt how to make a good porcini risotto. When not playing guitar he can be spotted jogging in Bercy Park “in another vain attempt to reduce weight”, he told me. Sandro is not the only Maltese musician to be based in Paris. There is quite a group of up and coming and established Maltese musicians who meet up to “drink, eat and argue”.

I asked him what influenced his music. “I love the classical guitar, that was what made me discover the Brazilian music of Villa-Lobos. I am not exactly influenced by Brazilian music but it is very much part of my musical journey. The guitar is an instrument that opens up an infinite number of possibilities. I also like the piano, I think I try to find the same ‘colour’ in my guitar playing. I listen to the greats like Bill Evans and Thelonious Monk,” he told me.

Sandro’s first group featured trombone player Sebastien Llado and won 3rd prize at the La Defense National Jazz Contest. He formed the group “The Jaywalkers” with alto saxophone player Olivier Zanot and drummer David Georgelet (winning a Mention Speciale for Composition at the La Defense Contest). It was later augmented to a quintet with the addition of Yoni Zelnik and David Prez (a companion from his conservatory days).

Sandro’s own White Russian 5tet first recording was awarded a Disque D’emoi by Jazz Magazine. He has won several awards at successive editions of La Defense National Jazz Contest, and has been very active on the Paris jazz scene. He has performed in Italy, Malta, Belgium, Morocco, Switzerland, Brazil, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, and S.Korea.

“I consider myself very lucky at being able to have a profession, which I am so passionate about. I have to do it, I need to do it, it’s my drug. Besides, having your ass constantly kicked by talented 20-something-year-old musicians makes you get your act together. I feel that this environment is necessary for a musician to improve. Playing with other musicians is when you really learn. Of course having good teachers gives you the grounding you need and the most important thing is listening to the masters and absorbing their language.

"I am currently writing material for my third album as a leader. This album will feature Laurent Coq, Yoni Zelnik, Fred Pasqua and some guests. This recording will be made possible through the generous help of the Malta Arts Fund and the Janatha Stubbs Foundation. It will be released on PJU records in the end of 2013. However, I am still in search of an experience equalling that of drinking caipirinhas at sundown in Ipanema,” he told me. You can find out more about his music on his new website www.sandrozerafa.com

I wondered why he got involved with the jazz festival here? “I became a fan of the Malta Jazz Festival in 1994, when I was overwhelmed by John Scofield,” he told me. After that came the time when “I painfully dismembered jazz standards on the island of Malta, in search for an ‘identity’”, he added.

 “A Malte, le jazz c’était inexistant” (jazz was non-existent in Malta) he was quoted in a French music magazine. "That was in the early 90's. Things have changed since then, but that was why I decided to leave the island because at that time the jazz scene was very meagre and there were very few opportunities." he told me.  Maybe it was because we were not exposed to it so much here and that is why people like Sandro, and Charles City Gatt before him, put so much effort in promoting the July Festival and brought togeher musicians from all over the globe. 

There are also other Malta based musicians who play jazz in public places like on the bridge down the steps, which are always crowded, leading down to the Grand Harbour on Friday evenings in he summer.

 “However, one can never compare the situation in Malta to any large city in Europe or elsewhere. Jazz in general thrives in big cities where there is a huge influx of musicians from different corners of the world,”  Sandro said. Exposing the Maltese public to jazz and encouraging local musicians is what the festival in July is all about.

I asked Sandro whether he had seen any changes since 2009? “Yes, definitely, we have seen many more ticket sales and the audiences are younger, which is encouraging. I continue in City Gatt’s footsteps, but obviously I wanted to make my own stamp. It is the only big jazz event of the year and we try to make it as eclectic as possible, but unlike other major jazz festivals, which are succumbing to watered down jazz and jazz pop, we want to preserve the integrity of the Malta festival, to retain the jazz element and not stray in order to attract wider audiences,” he told me.

This year will see the first edition of the Malta Jazz Contest, being held by the festival in collaboration with the Malta Embassy in France and Malta International Airport (MIA). The contest will be held on July 21 and is open to jazz soloists of Maltese nationality up to the age of 35. Participation is free of charge. The winner will participate in the Les Sons d'Une Île festival in Paris, organised by the Malta Embassy in France. The jury will consist of foreign jazz musicians participating in the festival and the results will be announced on the same day.

“The Malta Summer Jazz Camp is also being held for the first time in collaboration with the MIA and the Euro Institute of Music. This will feature some of the most important musicians in the European jazz scene today,” Sandro told me.
Workshops/master classes will be held at the Euro Institute of Music (Hamrun) between July 17 and 20, free of charge. The teachers in this year's Jazz Camp are Rino Cirinnà – saxophone; Claudio Angeleri - piano/jazz theory; Romain Pilon – guitar; Mátyás Szandai - bass/rhythm section; Karl Jannuska – drums/rhythm section. Besides, in the days preceding and following the festival, which runs from Thursday 18 to Saturday 20 July in the open-air setting of Ta’ Liesse, a number of events, including master classes and open-air concerts, will also be held.


The first night of the festival will feature Robert Glasper Experiment, fresh from his Grammy-award victory. Also performing on the first day will be two-time Grammy award nominee Gerald Clayton with his trio. He was recently voted first place for Rising Star – Pianist in Down Beat Magazine’s 2010 Critics Poll. Grammy nominee and one of the current jazz greats Gregory Porter will perform at the festival on July 19.

Performing on the same night will be Grammy-nominated composer-pianist Vijay Iyer, who was awarded an unprecedented quintuple crown in the Down Beat International Critics Poll. The Vijay Iyer Trio won the 2010 Echo Award (the 'German Grammy') for best international ensemble and the 2012 Downbeat Critics Poll for jazz group of the year. 
Multi-Grammy award winner and internationally acclaimed pianist and composer Michel Camilo will perform on July 20. Gilad Hekselman, one of the most exciting Israeli-born musicians on the jazz scene, will also perform with his quartet on the same night.
The Maltese acts will include the festival’s former artistic director Charles 'City' Gatt with his vibraphone quintet on July 18, Walter Vella Quartet on July 19 and Cusp on July 20.
Nine concerts on 18, 19, 20 July at €40.

The Malta Jazz Festival is supported by the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts. It is sponsored by the Malta International Airport, Cyberpass, MSV Life, Switch, Hotel Phoenicia, the Valletta local council and the Culture Ministry.
maltajazzfestival.org

Article published in the Malta Independent on Sunday 14/04/2013

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New broom

The dust was truly shaken up at the Corradino prison in Malta on Sunday evening when the new Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia paid it a surprise visit on Sunday evening at 19.30. The prison administration was knocked for six when the minister found that not only was the punch clock not always used but also that four guards who were supposed to be at work were actually at home, even though their shift was meant to end at 21.00 hrs.

He was told that this kind of behaviour had been going on for a long time, and had his visit occurred on a weekday, he would have found as many as seven or eight officers missing. He was also told that some officers left for home at 13.00 instead of 21.00 hrs.

The prison director Abraham Zammit, playing a Manuel from Fawlty Towers, claimed, “I know nothing” when questioned on this serious abuse by Minister Mallia. It is understood that he has tendered his resignation.

I doubt that people will be tripping over each other to take over as prison director. It is by far one of the toughest jobs around and the Minister will have his work cut out to pick the right person for the job.

He called on the permanent secretary to launch an immediate investigation and the attendance book was taken away. The latter will help the Board, which will be set up to examine why and how the abuse was allowed and to establish responsibility. “All those who had abused would have to pay for their actions,” claimed the ministry.

I am not sure whether the same Board, or another to be set up, will be asked to issue recommendations for a reorganisation of practices at the prisons.

Such issues, as to why prisoners' food is supplied by an outside contractor instead of being prepared in the prisons, with the related increased costs and security risks; why items in the tuck shop cost more than outside the prison; the working conditions and practices of prison guards and the operation of the Forensic Ward as a satellite of the prisons at Mt Carmel Hospital, are to be looked into.

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‘All in the family’ fails for the PL and PN now wants a 'People's party'

 

I shall kick off with what I thought was the first gaff by the new government. I had already expressed my misgivings about Dr Godfrey Farrugia being allocated the Health Ministry in a previous column. It was unfortunate that the item to hit the headlines with a bang, for the new Labour (PL) government, was about the Health Minister Godfrey Farrugia accompanied by his partner MP Marlene Farrugia as his aide. All the work started by the other ministers that week was sidelined by that story.

What on earth were they thinking appearing together and presenting themselves as a double act at the minister’s first press conference, then banning the press? OK, the latter was followed by an apology but the harm was done. Of course she did the right thing by resigning a few days later, but really the repercussions of that move should have been predictable to anyone with political savvy.

A lot of emphasis was put on the fact that Ms Farrugia’s work would have been unpaid by people who saw nothing wrong with the move, but that would be missing the wood for the trees, as I commented on Face book when the story broke, perception is all. However, I doff my cap to Dr Farrugia if he really managed to reduce congestion in the Accident and Emergency Department at Mater Dei Hospital over Easter. I augur that it will be an ongoing improvement.

The Nationalist Party (PN) in Opposition, having previously been in government for a long time, knows how to hog the headlines and the impending election of their new leader is bound to generate interest. What a difference from the last election for a new PN leader, when the other two contenders besides Lawrence Gonzi were Cabinet Ministers with a long, successful background within the PN.

This time round Francis Zammit Dimech is the only one with that background, but not carrying the same clout that John Dalli and Louis Galea had at the time. Francis is a really nice guy and he does put himself about and I mean that in the nicest possible way. As he puts it, “Let’s not put aside the way I communicate with people, I tended to be more in consultation with the party grassroots”.

He was right in saying “We (the PN) were coming across as too negative and emphasising the fear of Labour too much. The emphasis should have been much more on our achievements.” What he might have been better off not saying was, “I think that from a sociological point of view I would have preferred it if divorce had not been introduced.”

That is where the younger generation have the edge. Simon Busuttil might have just got a seat in our parliament but he did so well in the European parliament. It was a shame he lost his cool and sophistication and got sucked in to the PN desperado election mode, recognised by FZD. However, it seems he has lost no kudos within his party and he might carry the crown.

His rallying call, one echoed by all the contenders, which he is repeatedly emphasising is that the PN needed to become the 'people's party' once more.

Mario de Marco is also pledging a party that was not just for the people but also of the people but would like to see less divisive politics. However, his press statements lack Busuttil’s loquacity and the latter appeals to those in the PN who want to keep the lines firmly divided between the two parties. Busuttil has made it know that he would not take kindly to any PN MPs who take up Prime Minister Joseph Muscat's proposal to involve Opposition backbenchers in executive roles. He also made it clear on whom he sees as a possible threat with his warning  “it would be a mistake to choose someone without experience or roots in the PN.”

Now, who could that possibly be? Perhaps, someone who more than matches him in international sophistication and eloquence. Which bring us round to the last contender, the previously ‘unknown’ twice divorced businessman Raymond Bugeja now engaged to the more well known Sara Grech.

Like the rest Bugeja also wants to appeal to ‘the people’ and would rename the PN to Malta People's Party (MPP) and in Maltese Partit Popolari Malti (PPM), which in English actually translates to “popular” rather “people’s” party. He claims he is a “conservative with a liberal heart and a capitalist with a social heart” and feels the ‘philanthropic concept’ to serve his country. An accountant by profession he has been on the international circuit and is the owner of the RBG Group (Malta). I did not get much when I Goggled the latter name, other than it gives Sara Grech Limited as a reference; that it is a Trading Company with Hospitality Services in its categories of interest, is located in Msida and employs 11-50 people. Does the latter mean anything between 11 and 50?

It is interesting that he declined to give comments saying he would not be using the media in a tedious way (whatever that may mean) throughout the campaign. His work, he said, was to speak to councillors and not the media.

Oh dear, another one who wants to shut out the media. Meanwhile the public has been invited to give their views on the Nationalist Party's electoral defeat to the commission set up to analyse the result, Maybe they should wait to see who will win the leadership race.

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