Local musician and Maestro Vinny Vella Senior has passed away at the age of 96, his grandson Jamie Vella has announced.

“To many he will be remembered as the larger-than-life Maestro, to us he was simply nannu Vinny, the centre of our family,” Mr Vella said on Wednesday.

He thanked his grandfather for the love, wisdom, memories and for the music.

Vinny Senior was a known musician whose career spanned from the 1940s to the 1990s, being synonymous with venues like The Premier, Phoenicia, Strait Street and Chalet.

In 1947, Vinny was invited to play the clarinet in Villa Bellini in Sicily and in 1959 he became member of the Performance Rights Society. He was also asked to play for the BBC Radio.

He was the leading musician and director of the band Vinny’s Blue Jackets.

Furthermore, in comments given by his grandson, Vinny was one of the musicians at a ball attended by the late Queen Elizabeth II during her stay on the island.