Julian Joseph - Piano

Mark Hodgson - Acoustic Bass

Mark Mondesir - Drums Programme Note

One of the UK's best-known and loved jazz stars, the world-class pianist/composer/educator/band leader and BBC presenter Julian Joseph OBE is a national treasure. Never failing to inspire with the versatility of his musicianship and limitless creative imagination, Julian brings his hard-swinging and charismatic trio featuring Mark Hodgson on bass and Mark Mondesir on drums to his Malta Festival debut. Expect an evening of great music including standards and his own compositions delivered with breath-taking passion and energy and a nod to the Oscar Peterson Trio embedded within.

Mr Joseph will announce the programme from the stage. Julian Joseph Julian Joseph is one of the finest, most influential, and highly respected musicians in British jazz today. Devoting his career to championing music across the UK and into the far corners of the world, he has forged a reputation beyond his formidable skills as a performer and composer to become universally recognised as a highly knowledgeable and engaging broadcaster, musical ambassador, and cultural advocate. Julian has made a major contribution to Britain’s cultural landscape and heritage and is celebrated for his service to others and for sharing all the benefits of his life in music to inspire the musicians of the future. He has been recognized by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors, which awarded him a Gold Badge in 2010, and the Ivors Academy, which made him their 21st Fellow in December 2020. In 2018 he was awarded an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours.  Mark Hodgson Mark is one of the most in-demand double bass players on the international scene. He has played and recorded with, among others, Randy Brecker, Eddie Henderson, Guy Barker, Sonny Fortune, Pete King, Tommy Smith, Scott Hamilton, Andy Sheppard, Cedar Walton, Django Bates, Joey Calderazzo, Stan Tracey, Gary Husband, Mark Taylor, Des'ree, Mica Paris, Georgie Fame, Ian Shaw, Clare Martin and Jamie Cullum. He first joined Julian's Big Band in 1996 and can also be seen in Tim Garland's Underground Orchestra, the London Jazz Orchestra, and the BBC Big Band. From 1998 to 2003 he was a member of Bill Bruford's, 'Earthworks', recording four CDs and a live DVD, making tours of Europe, Asia, Africa, and the USA. Mark has performed at some of the world's most prestigious clubs and festivals, including venues such as Birdland and The Knitting Factory in New York, Washington D.C.’s Blues Alley, Yoshi's, Catalina's and The House of Blues in California, Sweet Basil's and the Blue Note in Japan, the Teatro Opera in Buenos Aires as well as London's Ronnie Scott's, Barbican Centre and Royal Festival Hall.  Mark Mondesir Mark Mondesir is undoubtedly one of the finest drummers the UK has ever produced and has gained the respect and admiration of musicians the world over. A unique talent, he combines technical velocity, complexity, and dexterity with awesome inventiveness and imaginative dynamism, all grounded in an instinctive feel for groove. He has known and worked with Julian for over twenty years and has made an inspiring and essential contribution to all his projects, bringing a musical integrity and diversity that is, quite simply, humbling. He is comfortable in any genre, from jazz to rock to funk to fusion, and has collaborated with a range of international artists, including John McLaughlin, Joe Zawinul, Steve Gadd, John Scofield, Jeff Beck, Kevin Eubanks, and Brian Ferry, as well as British musicians Courtney Pine, Andy Sheppard, Tony Remy, Dennis Rollins, Cleveland Watkiss, and his brother, Mike. Mark is also a distinctive voice in jazz composition, influenced by the seminal names in jazz fusion such as Herbie Hancock, Jaco Pastorius, John Serry, and Alphonso Johnson.