What it is
Pianist and composer Dominic Galea opens the 2026 Malta Jazz Festival with an evening built around the golden era of Maltese jazz — the 1960s, 70s and 80s, when the local scene crossed paths with visiting American players in Strait Street and Sliema clubs.
The concert is on Monday 6 July 2026 at the Valletta Campus Theatre (formerly MITP) on Merchants Street. Doors at 7:30 pm, music from 8:00 pm to around 11:00 pm. Galea leads a quintet of Maltese jazz veterans through revised arrangements of standards and original material from the period.
The full Malta Jazz Festival follows later in the month on the open-air Ta' Liesse stage at the Valletta Waterfront (17–19 July). This opener is the indoor warm-up: cooler, more intimate, and a chance to hear Galea's own writing rather than the international headliners.