It’s sometimes said that jazz vocals are supposed to sound like the singer, not the song. Departed legends from Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald to Mark Murphy and Betty Carter have epitomised that, as idiosyncratic muses such as Cécile McLorin Salvant and Gretchen Parlato continue to do today. But few contemporary jazz-influenced singers manage to sound so intensely like themselves while drawing on such a variety of genres, languages, and cultural backstories as the Albania-born vocalist ELINA DUNI. 

 

Multi Award winning singer Elina Duni was born into a highly artistic family in Tirana in 1981 and first sang on stage at the age of five. In 1992 after the fall of the communist regime, she and her mother settled in Geneva. Soon after, she started classical piano lessons and discovered jazz, before going on to study singing and composition in the jazz department at the Hochschule der Künste Bern.

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A Time To Remember is Duni’s ninth album and second with the UK’s Rob Luft (guitar). In its mix of Duni/Luft originals with European, American, Kosovan and Albanian traditional songs, it complements the same band’s cinematic 2020 ECM album Lost Ships. But Duni’s and Luft’s travels have since taken them on expeditions to the Sinai Desert and the Red Sea, and a sense of appreciative awe touches much of this music, particularly the pair’s daydreaming, note-gliding title track and the wordlessly rapturous, cymbal-shimmering Dawn.

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Renowned for his impressive growth over the past few years, award winning British guitarist, composer and band leader ROB LUFT has been propelled by his selection as a BBC New Generation Artist and his collaborations with Elina Duni. These experiences have further solidified his reputation and expanded his reach throughout Europe. Now, with his new album Dahab Days Luft demonstrates his continuous artistic growth and musical exploration, cementing his position as one of the most exciting and accomplished jazz guitarists on the scene today.

 

We're honoured to have Elina and Rob join us for two special shows on Saturday 2nd November at St Mary's Church Broughty Ferry, and an afternoon concert at Lodge At Lochside, Wee Bear Café on Sunday 3rd November.