About

Bio

”Almost equal work of the vocalist and the violin in the front row of the group is a rare combination in jazz, so it’s easy for the group to distinguish from the masses. Of course, the one’s attention is focused to Mindru’s originality as a singer. The sound is bright and clean, but still strong. The improvisation is freely expressed and natural.“
– Pentti Ronkainen for Suomijazz.com (FI)

The music of the Romanian singer and composer Elena Mîndru is an exotic musical journey. Her jazz music is spiced up in an inventive way with elements of traditional music from Romania, embodying the jazz tradition from a modern perspective. It tells stories about life, love and humanity. It breaks cultural borders and it connects souls.

Along her career, she has been receiving many awards in jazz festivals and competitions around Europe, but the most important one was in July 2012, in Switzerland, where she was awarded the 2nd Prize and the Public Prize by a jury presided by the great Quincy Jones, at the Shure Montreux Jazz Voice Competition.

Elena’s virtuoso voice has been heard in many countries around the globe, including venues in the US (New York), Germany, France, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Estonia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Finland or Romania.

The singer has released three jazz albums as a bandleader, through her own label EM Records. She has performed as a jazz vocal soloist with the European Jazz Orchestra, the Heidelberg Philharmonic Orchestra, the Transilvania Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bucharest Chamber Orchestra, the Finnish Air Forces Big Band, Jyväskylä Big Band and many other significant bands in Europe.

Elena Mîndru lives in Finland, currently a doctoral student within the Sibelius Academy’s Jazz Department in Helsinki. She graduated her masters in vocal jazz from the Royal Academy of Music in Århus, Denmark as a Nordic Master of Jazz student.

Mîndru is also a trained composer, having graduated her bachelor studies in composition. She writes and arranges pieces for symphony orchestra, big band, string quartets and many other constellations.