Elina Duni (born 10 March 1981, Tirana, Albania) is a Swiss-Albanian

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

singer and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

. She left

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

at the age of ten to live and study in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. She went on to study singing, composition, and teaching at the

University of the Arts Bern __NOTOC__ The Bern Academy of Arts () is an art school with locations in Bern and Biel/Bienne. It was created in 2003 from the merger of the University of Music and Theatre and the School of Design, Art and Conservation. The educational institution ...

, but from 2004 onward,

Albanian folk music The music of Albania () is associated with the country of Albania and Albanian diaspora, Albanian communities. Music has a long tradition in the country and is known for its regional diversity, from the Ghegs in the North to the Tosks in the Sou ...

became a primary influence. In 2004, she formed a quartet under her own name with Swiss jazz pianist Colin Vallon, bassist Patrice Moret, and drummer Norbert Pfammatter. In a review, John Fordham concluded that "This quartet definitely sounds like rising star material for

ECM ECM may refer to the following: Economics and commerce * Engineering change management * Equity capital markets * Error correction model, an econometric model * European Common Market Mathematics * Lenstra's Elliptic curve method for factor ...

." After two albums—''Baresha'' (2008) and ''Lume Lume'' (2010)—on Meta Records, the quartet went on to record for ECM in 2012, releasing ''Matanë Malit'' (Beyond the Mountain), followed by ''Dallëndyshe'' (Swallow) in 2015. In 2014, she released her first album as a singer-songwriter in Kosovo and Albania, titled ''Muza e Zezë'' (The Black Muse). In 2017, she was nominated for the annual Swiss Music Prize, and in 2018, she released the album ''Partir,'' a solo project in which she accompanies herself on piano, acoustic guitar, and percussion. The album features traditional folk songs from across the globe, sung in nine different languages. Duni lives in

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, and collaborates with British guitarist

Rob Luft Rob Luft (born November 1993) is an English jazz guitarist and composer from London, United Kingdom. He has released three albums, ''Riser'', ''Life Is The Dancer'' & ''Dahab Days'', as a solo artist on British label Edition Records. His playi ...

, with whom she has released two albums on

ECM Records ECM (Edition of Contemporary Music) is an independent record label founded by Karl Egger, Manfred Eicher and Manfred Scheffner in Munich in 1969. While ECM is best known for jazz music, the label has released a variety of recordings, and ECM's a ...

. The 2020 album ''Lost Ships'' comprises six Duni/Luft originals and six interpretations. The supporting musicians include Matthieu Michel on flugelhorn and multi-instrumentalist Fred Thomas on piano and percussion. Their second collaborative album, ''A Time to Remember,'' was named Jazz Album of the Month by

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

, with John Fordham describing it as a sonically "delicate yet diamond bright" listening experience.

Discography

* 2007 - ''Baresha'' * 2010 - ''Lume, Lume'' * 2012 - ''Matanë Malit'' * 2014 - ''Muza e zezë'' (''The Black Muse'') * 2015 - ''

Dallëndyshe ''Dallëndyshe'' (Albanian: "Swallow") is an album by the Elina Duni Quartet recorded in July 2014 and released on ECM April the following year—the Swiss-Albanian singer's second release for the label, and her fifth overall. Composition Like ...

'' * 2018 - ''Partir'' * 2019 - ''Aksham'' * 2020 - ''Lost Ships'' (with

) * 2023 - ''A Time To Remember'' (with

)

References

External links

Elina Duni
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duni, Elina Albanian emigrants to Switzerland 21st-century Albanian women singers 1981 births Living people Musicians from Tirana 21st-century Swiss musicians 21st-century Albanian women musicians 21st-century Swiss women singers ECM Records artists