Elina Duni from Albania delivered a fantastic concert at Vaba Lava on April 21st in Tallinn. The hall was crowded. Elina started her career in a very early age, when she was five years old; she was a participant of several TV programs and different shows. However, when the communism regime collapsed in 1992, Elina moved to Switzerland with her mother. After graduating music studies in jazz department at Bern academy, she started generating Elina Duni quartet.
Elina Duni from Albania delivered a fantastic concert at Vaba Lava on April 21st in Tallinn. The hall was crowded. Elina started her career in a very early age, when she was five years old; she was a participant of several TV programs and different shows. However, when the communism regime collapsed in 1992, Elina moved to Switzerland with her mother. After graduating music studies in jazz department at Bern academy, she started generating Elina Duni quartet.
The Albanian singer had a significantly intense interaction with the audience that captured each moment of the performance. The singer and her band improvised very harmonic and dazzling compositions for Jazzkaar’s guests. Elina was dressed in white clothes, barefooted, with long hair, charming vocal pleasing the people in the hall. She sang about love, women and men, separation, freedom. Each song had the introduction that was conducted by the artist; therefore the atmosphere was very open and friendly. Elina told stories about the songs she sang at the concert.
The repertoire covered the musician’s life. The songs were connected with Soviet Union period, then later freedom as well as difficulties. As Elina told the spectators, after Albania became a free country, many people left abroad to get a better job and have a better life. Consequently, people got separated from the ones they loved and started a new journey in another country. “Rainbow” was a song about Albanian people, their separation from each other to find a better life, the constant pain when a man goes away or when a wife flies away. “The Swallow” was a positive accord of hope for the future, for Albanian people to meet again soon and as swallows bring the spring, there comes the time of coming back home with a positive and energetic new beginning.
The artist performed songs about love like “Forbidden Fruit”, which is about a man singing to a woman to reach her. Elina was a predominant artist on the stage in constant interaction with the band members. She also performed a composition with drum background only. The tones and rhythm were changing all the time. Elina was dancing very energetically on the stage, spreading a dazzling smile and a beautiful articulation of vocal.
The fusion of Balkan traditional and modern tones reached to the audience’s spirit. Hence, the frequent applause authenticated success of the performance; she possessed the stage. After the show at Vaba Lava, Elina Duni continued her journey in Estonia in order to share her music with the Estonian people.
Elina Duni Quartet
Tuesday, April 21st at 21:00 at Vaba Lava
Elina Duni – vocal
Colin Vallon – piano
Patrice Moret – double bass
Norbert Pfammatter – drums