ProStudioMasters.com

"Four Stars ... this quartet definitely sounds like rising star material for ECM." - The Guardian "Four Stars ... a recording with (ECM's) iconic cool and pristine sonic aesthetic ... the jazz instrumentation provides a floating, polyrhythmic setting for the tonal purity and emotional elasticity of Duni’s sinuous and soaring vocals ... you’ll feel the heartbreak, longing, resilience and pride in Duni’s enthralling vocals and the haunting accompaniment. Imagine solo voice from a Bulgarian women’s choir meeting a Keith Jarrett trio: Matanë Malit is that stirring." - The Absolute Sound "The music may sound and feel effortless, yet there are layers of complexity hidden within that make it a revelation each and every time ... Duni and her quartet manage to imbue this haunting, plaintive music, detailed though it may be, with a spontaneity that renders Matanë Malit such an evocative experience. An album that grabs hold of the head and heart so insidiously that it's almost impossible to let it go ... will hopefully introduces Duni and her superb group to the broader international audience they so richly deserve." - All About Jazz Matanë Malit ("Beyond the Mountain") is the ECM debut from Albanian vocalist Elina Duni, a musical tribute to her homeland and exploration of her roots from a present day vantage point as a musician engaged in improvisational processes. Jazz experience informs her exploration of Balkan folk songs, with attention to atmosphere, the shape of the sound, the tactility of the structures and the implications of the words. Digging deeper into the Balkan region’s troubled history, she has uncovered many songs of real beauty and power from Albania and its vast diaspora. Matanë Malit includes songs of lovers, heroes, workers, shepherds, exiles and resistance, both traditional numbers arranged by Duni and original music expressively moulded in the tradition.