ENJI

When Enkhjargal Erkhembayar heard jazz for the first time, the singer, who was born in Ulan Bator in 1991, had already completed a degree in music education and was also intensively involved with the folk music of her homeland. This was at the Goethe Music Laboratory in Ulan Bator, which was run by the German bassist Martin Zenker. This time was a revelation for the young woman, both as a person and as a jazz artist. The jazz of today showed her a freedom of expression that she had never known before. She learnt to sing according to jazz without ignoring her own ‘roots’ in the far-reaching vocal tradition of Mongolia. She went to Munich to study at the University of Music and Theatre, has since called herself Enji (which is easier for non-Mongolian lips) and is working even harder than before to build a bridge between the ancient throat singing of her native Mongolia called Urtin Duu and the jazz singing tradition of African-American and European influences.