Relatively new on the music scene as a unit, Dominic Galea and Co. were an instant hit with the public at the Malta Jazz Festival 2008.

Many were those who said that their music was synonymous with that of the foreign bands present. All the songs were original compositions.

The band opened their show with African Dreams, a funk number where each band member showed his worth by playing an improvised solo on the theme.

In Search of Youth, a Bossa Nova number written by Dominic Galea dedicated to the late Bernard Scerri, a great Maltese bass player who passed away at a relatively young age, was also greatly appreciated by those present.

The band’s real fusion style was artistically portrayed in Carthage, which was another number deeply enjoyed by the crowd present.

The band is currently working on their first studio album which will be an eclectic fusion of jazz styles, most songs being penned by Dominic Galea with contributions by Marc Galea and with the album due out some time later this year.

Dominic Galea, composer/ pianist is a familiar face at the Malta Jazz festival, having made his third appearance at the Malta Jazz festival this year. He has also performed at the Bratislava Jazz days in 1985 and at the Paradise Jazz festival in Cyprus in 2005 and has also been participating in a number of other local arts festivals. Dominic together with Benedict produced Jazz album Mnajdra Jazz Suite in 2001. Dominic also produced and released jazz albums No talk no nonsense in 2002 and Tribute to the swinging pioneers of Malta in 2004.

Drummer Benedict Galea, studied in the US with the late Mark Craney, and at Berklee College of Music. While in the US, he performed with Tiger Okoshi and Lin Binviano. He also appeared in the Malta Jazz Festival and Jazz Fringe. Ben has toured in Germany with local artiste Ira Losco. He also performed and is featured in albums launched in Italy, Germany and Turkey. Ben composed and performed for the openings of the Malta Music Awards and the Grand opening of the Mater Dei hospital.

Marc Galea, the third Galea in the “Co” is a qualified guitar tutor and principal at the Euro Institute of Music in Hamrun and has been involved in the organisation of concerts and various master classes with top foreign artistes. 2007 saw the launch of his promotional Ep My journey, with original studio compositions and Marc continues to be busy as a session guitarist of choice for many local artistes.

Eric Wadge, a relatively new comer to the jazz, completes the line up on bass with his second appearance at the Malta Jazz festival, following a stint in 2007 and shall be returning this year with the “Co”.