Eda Zari was born in Tirana and has lived and worked in Germany since 1990.
Raised in a family of musicians connected to the Lela tradition of Përmet, she began music at an early age and developed a deep relationship with Albanian iso-polyphony. Between 1985 and 1988 she studied classical Bel Canto at the Jordan Misja Music High School in Tirana.
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From 1994 she studied opera singing and theatre at the Cologne University of Music. In 2000 she completed a Master of Voice Performance, while developing work across jazz, world music, Balkan and Mediterranean repertoire, film music and contemporary composition.
Her practice extends beyond performance into music production, festival curation, cultural project development and international artistic collaboration.
Beyond her work as a singer and composer, Zari develops cultural projects, curates festivals and builds international collaborations. Since 2014 she has been closely associated with the development of Jazz & Wine International Festival Albania and has also helped shape projects including Hemingway Jazz Fest.
Her career spans jazz clubs, philharmonic halls, theatres, festivals and broadcast productions. Artists she has worked with or shared stages with include Dominic Miller, Ibrahim Maalouf, Rhani Krija, Mike Stern, Al Jarreau and other international musicians.
Voice, composition and memory move through the same artistic practice.
About Eda
02 / JOURNEY
From Tirana to Cologne
TIRANA
Early musical roots
Born in Tirana and raised in a musical family connected to the Lela tradition of Përmet.
1985—1988
Bel Canto
Classical vocal studies at the Jordan Misja Music High School.
1994—2000
Cologne · Voice & theatre
Opera singing, theatre and dramaturgical study at the Cologne University of Music; completing Voice Performance studies.
2014—NOW
Curation & cultural work
Festival development, cultural projects, international collaboration and artistic production alongside her music.
03 / STAGES & COLLABORATIONS
Stages and collaborations
Her career includes appearances across Germany, Albania, Kosovo, Spain, Brazil, Algeria, Switzerland, China, Israel and the United States.
04 / PRACTICE
Voice and composition
VOICE
Vocal work across contemporary jazz, Albanian musical memory and improvisation.
COMPOSITION
Original music, vocal writing and arrangement across recordings, stage and film.
PRODUCTION
Artist-led record, media and project development through Kaba Music Records and earlier production work.
ISO-POLYPHONY
A living source language: breath, collective memory and Albanian vocal architecture in contemporary form.
JAZZ
Improvisation and ensemble dialogue as an open field rather than a fixed style.
WRITING / RESEARCH
Essays and cultural reflection connecting music, society, memory and artistic practice.
FESTIVAL CURATION
International cultural exchange, festival development and artist-led programming.
05 / CULTURE / DIALOGUE
Music and culture
Through DIALOGTAGE, Zari connects cultural exchange between North Rhine-Westphalia, Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia. Since 2013, she has joined Elina Duni and fellow Albanian jazz musicians in advocating for the protection of the Vjosa and Valbona rivers.
For Bujar Alimani’s film, Eda Zari contributed vocal arrangements, original vocal lines and composition in collaboration with German composer Olaf Didolff.
Her work for film connects voice, arrangement, composition and narrative sound design.
Winner of the 22nd European Jazz Contest in Getxo/Bilbao and the NRW Summer Festival in Bonn; honoured by Albanian President Rexhep Meidani with the title Cultural Ambassador of Albania.
FESTIVALS & CURATION
Since 2014 associated with the development of the Jazz & Wine International Festival Albania; also involved with Hemingway Jazz Fest in Tirana and international festival collaborations in Kosovo and North Macedonia.
BROADCAST
Work and appearances for international radio and television, including WDR, Deutsche Welle, Arte, RTSH, RTK, Radio France, Radio Multikulti and other European broadcasters.
PRODUCTION
Alongside her own recordings, Zari has worked across music, film, broadcast and commercial productions; in 2000 she co-founded Neon Media Production GmbH in Cologne with Mark Joggerst.
SELECTED STAGES & FESTIVALS
Cologne Philharmonic · Blue Note New York · World Trade Center New York · Tonhalle Düsseldorf · Beethovenhalle Bonn · Expo 2000 Hannover · Palace of Congresses Tirana · Opera House Tirana · Getxo / Bilbao Jazz · Dresden Festspiele · Leverkusen Jazz Festival · Balkan Fever Vienna · Estival Lugano · Münsterland Festival · São Paulo · Algiers · Palermo · Shanghai · Tel Aviv
PRODUCTION & COMMERCIAL WORK
The earlier archive documents work for Mercedes-Benz, Seat, Maybach, Montblanc, L’Oréal, Western Union, Mango Fashion, Expo 2000 Hannover, as well as other film, television and radio productions.
SELECTED COLLABORATORS
Dominic Miller · Ibrahim Maalouf · Rhani Krija · Mike Stern · Al Jarreau · Hayden Chisholm · Florian Weber · Roland Peil · Hans Lüdemann · Gert Kapo · Dejan Terzic · Sebastian Studnitzky · Mark Joggerst · Henning Jung · Lela Dynasty of Përmet
