Media Insights and Reviews on Eda Zari’s Music

“It is no coincidence that Tirana-born, Germany-based singer Eda Zari is pictured crossing a bridge on the CD cover. At a time when the West is suffering from a diffuse fear of the East and the South, Zari’s Entropy shows what connects us with Istanbul, Russia, Syria and Albania.

It is the sacred music of the Byzantine Orthodox Church, carrying Greek, Jewish and Syrian heritage and, according to legend, descending from the singing of angels.

Eight sacred songs — from Kyrie Eleison and Marian chants to a liturgical meditation on the sinful woman in the house of the Pharisee from the Gospel of Luke — form the basis of Zari’s ambitious pilgrimage from ancient Byzantium to the cosmopolitan jazz of the present.

Arranged by pianist Florian Weber, the church melodies become songs with a remarkable element of surprise, moving effortlessly and naturally from the archaic sound of a Byzantine male choir to Zari’s soulfully rhythmic speech-song in Kyrie Eleison.

The project leader, trained as a classical opera singer, reveals an impressive vocal range: there is room for Oriental melisma, for the sustained-note drones of Albanian singing and for the jazz polyphony of the New York Voices — for which the opening piece Kurre nuk po merret vesh is a fabulous example.

That Entropy succeeds so convincingly in mediating between cultures and eras that might seem far apart is due not least to the participating musicians, themselves attentive bridge-builders.

Alto saxophonist Hayden Chisholm, for example, interacts with the Albanian Orthodox choir St. John the Koukouzelian in a way reminiscent of Jan Garbarek with the Hilliard Ensemble in Zoti eshte bashke me ne. Special guest Ibrahim Maalouf, present on three pieces, lets the quarter-tones of his trumpet meander between chamber-jazz introspection and North African spirituality.”

Josef Engels, Rondo, 14 January 2017

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EDA ZARI — TOKA INCOGNITA

Albanian-born singer Eda Zari has lived in Germany for many years. She trained as an opera singer, but her passion for tradition and jazz has brought her to major stages around the world.

Zari has a talent for combining strong vocal technique with accessible roots-jazz, drawing on Balkan idioms, Yiddish traditions and Roma music through to Arabic-inflected melodies and pop-jazz arrangements.

The album contains twelve songs, with guitarist Dominic Miller appearing as special guest on three tracks.

Zari moves from easy-going folk-pop songs for a broad audience to haunting versions of well-known repertoire such as A Yiddisher Mame, a song recorded hundreds of times; her version is, in my view, among the finest I know.

It is an unusual combination of repertoire. Many songs are somewhat too mainstream for my personal taste, but several are genuine pearls. In those moments Zari demonstrates that she is an artist capable of pleasing a broad audience while also possessing the courage and quality to follow her own path and create beautiful music.

© Eelco Schilder, FolkWorld, 2013

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“With Eda Zari from Tirana, Albania, a very special artist joins the line-up. The lyrical coloratura soprano of this state-certified opera singer, who now lives in Germany, has extraordinary radiance. Her voice hypnotizes the listener with tremendous passion, energy and depth.”

Ad Hoc, album by Dominic Miller Jazz Fun, February 2013

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“Eda Zari is a cultural ambassador for Albania and is celebrated as a superstar in her home country. With Statement, her first album for the Intuition label, she represents Albanian culture as both singer and composer — a culture too easily eclipsed by images of desperate refugees on the Italian coast.

This is precisely where Eda Zari places her message. On Statement she unites the beauty and richness of Albanian music into a compelling document of a living musical culture.

Alongside Family Lela de Përmet, one of Albania’s best-known musical dynasties, other international musicians also contributed to the success of Statement, including the well-known Moroccan percussionist Rhani Krija, virtuoso pianist Hans Lüdemann and arranger Mark Joggerst.

For Eda Zari the album title is quite literally a programme: she is particularly concerned with drawing attention to Albania as a musical country that has so far received too little notice. With this passionate world-pop CD, she has succeeded.”

WDR 5 Radio Multikulti & Funkhaus Europa Statement — CD of the Week, 13–18 January 2003

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Who is Eda Zari? Take a look at the cover.

Then hear that this woman is a cultural ambassador for Albania; that she makes exciting, vital music, sings, writes lyrics and composes; and that with Statement she is now releasing her first album on Intuition.

Category? Should it be called world pop?

Certainly — her songs sound inviting and accessible, but are in fact more sophisticated. Even in the tracks Eda Zari sings in English, subtle elements of characteristic Albanian musical tradition are woven into the music. They make the album something very special.

Family Lela de Përmet, a legendary Albanian musical family — and especially clarinettist Vladimir Gica — plays an important role, as do Mark Joggerst, co-composer and co-arranger, and the pianist on the recordings.

Eda Zari is particularly committed to drawing attention to Albania as a musical country that has so far received little notice; hence the clear title Statement.

In close cooperation with Deutsche Welle and its Albanian editorial team, she has undoubtedly succeeded.

Her songs, many inspired by memories of places and people from her homeland, possess an unforced intensity and passion that lifts them well beyond conventional world pop.

Eda Zari is a singer waiting to be discovered.

Deutschlandradio, 2005

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JazzTimes — USA / New York

“It is precisely this talent that distinguishes the multifaceted vocalist EDA ZARI. Blending sophisticated elements of Balkan music with the most contemporary styles of current jazz, Miss Zari creates a compelling fusion of sensuous smoothness and sultry vocals in her own music. She improvises and revitalises Albanian polyphony, crafting an atmosphere that weaves a subtle and heady sonic tapestry.”

Vienna Balkan Jazz Festival — Magazine Concerto, Franz Richter

“The combination of Eda’s powerful and broad-ranging vocals and her adept band, with their mastery of intricate time signatures inherent in Balkan music, would grace any stage or captivate any audience. Onstage, Zari emanates charm and charisma in equal measure. With her impeccable and sensual voice, she possesses all the necessary prerequisites for a truly stellar career.”

BBC Radio — Charlie Gillett

“I love her new tracks from Statement. The clarity and emotional depth of Eda’s voice, her magical stage presence, and the sincerity in her musical choices allow her to combine traditional Balkan and Albanian Mediterranean music idioms with up-to-date Western rhythms and sounds.”

Jazz Podium

“Funkhaus Europa named Eda Zari’s Statement Album of the Month. With Statement she promotes the culture of her people, often forgotten after news images of desperate refugees washing up on the Italian coast. This is where Eda Zari takes centre stage. In Statement she skilfully combines the diversity and beauty of Albanian music, creating a captivating representation of a vibrant musical culture.”

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STATEMENT — EDA ZARI

Albania — a country known above all through reports of political catastrophe — is presented here by Eda Zari from its sensually beautiful and musically rich side.

The country’s musical traditions merge with current trends in world music to create a striking mixture of danceable rhythms and high musical ambition.

Her band alone guarantees this: it includes members of Albania’s legendary musical dynasty Family Lela de Përmet.

Eda Zari is a superstar in her country and, supported by Deutsche Welle, now ventures onto the international market. One can only congratulate her.

She adds another exciting facet to the already fashionable landscape of global beats, one that captivates from the first moment.

A pronounced preference for odd metres, which nevertheless swing with ease combines with an explosive mixture of North African musical culture such as raï, Balkan funk/jazz with Gypsy influences, reggae, salsa, dancefloor jazz and Albania’s characteristically hypnotic vocal figures.

The Albanian language, moreover, is highly melodic.

Strangely beautiful.

Discover Music Magazine — Peter Backof