Elina Duni Quartet – Matanë Malit (2012)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/88,2 kHz | Time – 53:49 minutes | 723 MB | Genre: Contemporary Jazz, Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © ECM
Matanë Malit (Beyond the mountain) marks the exquisite ECM debut by the Elina Duni Quartet. The recording pays homage to Albania and finds a singer looking at her roots from a contemporary vantage point as a musician engaged in improvisational processes. Duni explores the region’s troubled history, uncovering songs filled with beauty and power. These traditional masterpieces arranged by Duni, tell the stories of lovers, heroes, workers, shepherds and exiles. Each track focuses on the shape of the sound and the composition’s structure. Absolutely riveting!
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Elina Duni Quartet – Dallëndyshe (2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/88,2 kHz | Time – 55:13 minutes | 997 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © ECM
On Dallёndyshe (“The Swallow”), her second ECM album, Elina Duni sings songs of love and exile. The troubled history of the Balkan regions has inspired many such songs and the pieces here, primarily from Albanian traditional sources, are interpreted with intensity and insight by Elina and her band. The Tirana-born and Swiss-raised singer has become an exceptional musical storyteller embodying the songs’ narratives, in a way that transcends genre definitions and language limitations. “If we can tell a story with the music and the listeners travel with us, then the goal is reached.” A story, she points out, can be transmitted in many ways, not only through lyrics, but also through the evocation of a melody, through the feeling conveyed in the performance of a song, and through the solos of the band members.
Finding the songs and adapting them for the quartet is a new challenge each time: “From song to song we work differently.
When it’s the four of us together, each person brings something in. We might begin with patterning of bass and drums from Patrice and Norbert, and then Colin adding something and me putting a line on top by finding another way to sing or phrase a melody. On this particular album Colin also brought in a couple of complete arrangements, which was very helpful. I’m lucky to be working with these subtle musicians who help me to bring out the poetry and avoid any sentimental tendencies. With the folk ballads there can be a danger of over-emphasizing the pathos.” Alert to this, the players underline the spirit of a song without being merely illustrative.