She followed it with her second ECM date, Dallëndyshe (Swallow), with the same group as on her label debut. In 2014, she self-released Muza e Zezë (The Black Muse) in Kosovo and Albania - her debut offering as a singer/songwriter. That year she won the German Jazz Pott Prize in Essen. She arranged the set to tell the story of Albania, its people and history, and the troubles that have enveloped it since the fall of communism. Her debut for the label, Matanë Malit (Beyond the Mountain), featured numerous traditional songs of obscure and modern origin arranged for a jazz band (pianist Vallon, bassist Patrice Moret, and drummer Norbert Pfammatter). In 2010, she followed it up for the same label with Lume Lume, which was much more oriented toward blues and jazz standards, though it did contain some folk songs.ĭue to her association with Vallon, she garnered the attention of ECM's founder, Manfred Eicher, who signed her. Its meld of root sources and modern jazz met with favorable reviews throughout Europe. She recorded Baresha, her debut album with the group, in 2007 it was issued in 2008 by Meta Records. It was while at university that she formed the Elina Duni Quartet with pianist Colin Vallon, bassist Patrice Moret, and drummer Norbert Pfammatter. Between 20 she studied singing, composition, and teaching at the University of Arts in Bern. As the government of Albania fell into strife - and eventually disintegrated amid sectarian violence - she and her family fled to Geneva, Switzerland when Elina was 20. Between 19, she participated in several children's festivals and sang for National Albanian Radio and Television. Music became her prime mode of study while in high school. At age five she began to study violin and, just a bit later, to perform publicly. Her mother Besa Myftiu and grandfather Mehmet Muftiu were writers, while father Spiro Duni was an actor and director of theater. Her music engages folk traditions, structured improvisation, modern classical, and elements of the singer/songwriter tradition, all woven together into a mosaic of her own design.ĭuni was born in 1981 in Tirana, Albania, into a family of artists. Elina Duni is a classically trained vocalist and composer who melds the folk music traditions of the Balkans and other European regions with jazz, blues, and other elements.
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