Saturday 18 November 2023
ELINA DUNI & ROB LUFT: “A TIME TO REMEMBER” (ECM) – LONDON ALBUM LAUNCH!
Concert included in the official program of the EFG London Jazz Festival 2023.
A Time to Remember is a continuation of the special synergy that inhabited Elina Duni’s and Rob’s Luft acclaimed Lost Ships.
Elina: “I think this album is a reflection of our shared passion for musical storytelling, going beyond genre and language. After several years on the road touring together, the slightly unconventional lineup now sits comfortably, and inhabits its own, singular world of sound. It feels like the most cinematic album I’ve made to date, too, with every song suggesting a different film. It draws inspiration from our diverse, multi-lingual repertoire of traditional folksong.”
As the title suggests, the notion of ‘time’ – in a fleeting sense – pulls through the programme like a theme, connecting music from different parts of the world – traditionals, popular songs and original compositions – in performances of deep lyricism but also fleet-footed folklore. The repertory spans Albanian and Kosovan traditionals, American songs like the Broadway classic “I’ll Be Seeing You” and Stephen Sondheim’s musical ballad “Send In The Clowns” as well as originals by Rob and Elina.
The lyrics of the opening piece “Évasion” are taken from the eponymous poem by the Belgian-Israeli poet Esther Granek and have been set to music by Elina and Rob. The quartet renders the already pensive words in stark melancholy, as guitar, piano and trumpet, through arpeggiated patterns, suggest the ebbing and flowing tides of the sea, which is among the poem’s main symbols.
Many of the original compositions on the album are heavily inspired by an extended spell Rob and Elina spent in the Sinai Desert and reference the Red Sea, desert climate and nature in general – naturally provoking the cinematic quality Elina hints at. “Of course, these peculiar past years have provoked something more intimate – it has been a period of introspection for many. What’s more, the record draws from nostalgia, too, incorporating music like the Albanian song ‘Mallëngjimi’, which literally translates to ‘nostalgia’, or ‘I’ll Be Seeing You’. There was a willingness to go to the essence of things, to the core of the chosen songs, revealing something bare that seems to echo the Sinai Desert”.
Rob and Elina’s musical bond is key to the group’s floating interplay and the development of the musical material. The two also tour as a duo and collaborate as co-writers throughout the album. “Rob has a sun-drenched, solar side to his playing and writing” Elina explains, “while I tend to be drawn to darker musical colours. Combining these two contrasting elements can be a great challenge, but the result is equally rewarding. Finding the middle ground is a way for us to become sincere and authentic in our collective.”
Commenting on the group’s last effort, Jazzwise said that “the sum of Duni and Luft’s work together seems greater than their individual achievements, where concept and conceptualisation have combined to produce a classic”.
A Time to Remember should confirm that proposition and further expands on the qualities explored previously.
“Duni’s voice is remarkable, for while it is crystal clear in its multilingual enunciation it is also intimate and expressive in tone. […] Whatever the song, she approaches it with a tentative and in place haunting delivery, fully expressing the longing described in many of the songs…” - Simon Adams, Jazz Journal
“Elina Duni and Rob Luft have a strong musical relationship that is perhaps only now beginning to show just how deep into the human emotions and psyche they can get… Not just highly recommended, but unmissable” - Jazzviews
Line up:
Elina Duni - vocals
Rob Luft - guitar
Tom McCredie - bass
Corrie Dick – drums
Video 1 (“A Time to Remember”): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDjFKjAjQI4
Video 2 (“Evasion”): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b10hfTK93zU
ELINA DUNI I ROB LUFT: „A TIME TO REMEMBER” (ECM) – PREMIERA ALBUMU W LONDYNIE!
Koncert w oficjalnym programie EFG London Jazz Festival 2023.
A Time to Remember to kontynuacja wyjątkowej synergii, jaka charakteryzowała ich słynny album „Lost Ships”.
Elina: „Myślę, że ten album jest odzwierciedleniem naszej wspólnej pasji do muzycznego opowiadania historii, wykraczającej poza gatunek i język. Po kilku latach wspólnych tras koncertowych, nieco niekonwencjonalny skład czuje się teraz komfortowo i zamieszkuje swój własny, wyjątkowy świat dźwięków. Wydaje mi się, że to najbardziej kinowy album, jaki do tej pory nagrałam, a każda piosenka sugeruje inny film. Czerpie inspirację z naszego różnorodnego, wielojęzycznego repertuaru tradycyjnej pieśni folkowej".
„Elinę Duni i Roba Luft łączy silna muzyczna więź, która być może dopiero teraz zaczyna pokazywać, jak głęboko potrafią wniknąć w ludzkie emocje i psychikę… Nie tylko gorąco polecam, ale wręcz nie można tego przegapić” – Jazzviews
Muzycy:
Elina Duni – wokal
Rob Luft – gitara
Tom McCredie – bas
Corrie Dick – perkusja
