Albanian-Swiss singer and composer Elina Duni has been awarded the 2025 Swiss Jazz Award, one of the country’s most prestigious honors for jazz musicians.
The award ceremony will take place on June 28 during this year’s Ascona Jazz Festival, which runs from June 25 to July 5.
Currently signed with the renowned ECM Records, Duni has been praised for her exceptional talent in creating a poetic and emotional musical language, seamlessly blending jazz with the traditional music of her Albanian heritage. Swiss media describe her as an inspiring figure who has helped rejuvenate the jazz scene and mentored a new generation of musicians.
Born in Tirana, Albania in 1981 into an artistic family, Duni began performing at just five years old on Albanian National Radio and Television. After the fall of communism, she moved to Geneva with her mother and studied classical piano before fully dedicating herself to jazz.
During her studies at Hochschule der Künste in Bern, she founded the Elina Duni Quartet and later released acclaimed albums such as Matanë Malit (2012) and Dallëndyshe (2015). Her 2018 project Partir, in collaboration with guitarist Rob Luft, marked a new artistic phase, showcasing her also as a multi-instrumentalist.
The Swiss Jazz Award has been awarded annually since 2007, with past winners including the Swiss Jazz Orchestra, Christoph Grab, and Othella Dallas.
