Of all the vocal artists of the current generation of contemporary jazz, the Albanian (of Swiss mixing) Elina Duni seems to offer one of the most original and inspiring visions. Her style oscillates between traditional jazz, classical, and folk. She possesses a beautifully muted and seductive voice, with an impeccable quality in terms of expressive accuracy and intonation. I imagine she could easily participate in early music projects like those of L’Arpeggiata led by Christina Pluhar, or even the ecumenical crossovers by the Montreal-based ensemble Constantinople led by Kiya Tabassian. While simultaneously pursuing a perfect career as a jazz standards singer in clubs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her early albums, with her quartet, favoured modern jazz, with a frank and propulsive energy, interspersed with well-calibrated ballads. But since she arrived at ECM (with the album Lost Ships<\/em> in 2020), she has been offering us a very personal path to follow with her. A tranquil path that traverses all the influences mentioned above, but fused into original programs bathed in generally soft light. These are mainly small journeys of great sweetness in which she guides us with kindness. The same goes for the second ECM album, A Time to Remember <\/em>(2023), created with the same quartet format as the previous one (Rob Luft on electric guitar, Fred Thomas on piano and drums, Matthieu Michel on flugelhorn).<\/p>\n\n\n\n For this new entry, Reaching for the Moon,<\/em> she takes the economy of means a step further: only Rob Luft accompanies her. But what is removed in sonic possibilities is multiplied in emotional subtlety and musical introspection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n