Štěpánka Balcarová (*1986), such a beautiful challenge to the (fortunately disappearing) male jazz chauvinism. She plays the trumpet like a virtuoso. She founded the Inner Spaces and 4Step combos, which are appreciated by both critics and listeners. Masters such as Karel Růžička gladly invite her into their projects. Jaromír Honzák, on the other hand, is happy to accept an invitation to her project. She composes for both small and large ensembles. She teaches. And, above all, she leads the Concept Art Orchestra big band. She initiated the creation of the group of composers Prague Six and currently also announced a composition competition. She managed to gain fame in a very short time, let’s say from 2009, when the first album Inner Spaces was released and when the band was awarded at the Polish jazz contests Krokus Jazz and Jazz Juniors Krakow.”
Tomáš S. Polívka, Magazín UNI (02/2016), Fascinuje mě role prostřednice
Recenze
Štěstí / Happiness
(Radioservis, 2022)
“…jazz improvisations have free space to fly. At the same time, the orchestra is used in a balanced way throughout the cycle. The orchestra plays, it doesn’t have to deny common virtuosity, interplay and dynamics,ite is not degraded to a mere fog of surfaces in the background, to occasional coloraturas or just reinforcements of the original melodic lines.”
Tomáš S. Polívka, Český rozhlas Jazz (01/2023)
“The album’s fifty-two-minute lenght does not leave even the slightest gap for emptiness, barrenness, and vanity. All the songs actually create an unusually cohesive suite that celebrates poetry as such, celebrating at the same time the ability of jazz and classical music to express emotions and fundamental questions of human existence together, and that completely naturally, without seams and bloat. Simply the highest quality Third Stream!“
Jan Hocek, Jazzport: Co je to štěstí? Nové album Štěpánky Balcarové
„The music is so wonderful, that one can assume it would have sounded great in any variation. Balcarova’s arrangements deserve nothing but praise and my only worry is that we might lose her Jazz oriented work in favor of other explorations, but I am sure she has still so much to say in her future accomplishments; that we won’t be able to resist her charm and sophistication.“
„Overall, this is a fascinating piece of music and more, a superb Jazz & Poetry project, a great example of cross-genre exploration, in short a gem of an album. The level of creativity and musical Artistry present herein is absolutely astounding. If you love music and even if you don’t speak Polish, this is still a dynamite piece of music, which is completely universal. If you, however, do speak Polish, and even perhaps also love Tuwim, this is Heaven on Earth.“
Adam Baruch, The soundtrack of my life (blog), 5.2. 2023
“I consider Štěpánka Balcarová’s project with “Tuwim” to be the most successful “symphonization” of the recordings made on our stage.”
100 Years
(Animal Music, 2020)
“The 100 Years album is a recording of an excellent piece of music and a political commentary at the same time. It shows how current a jazz big band can be.”
Vánoce dospělých
(Animal Music, 2018)
“First of all, I am pleased that the CAO and the group of composers Prague Six have managed a fundamental compromise. To make the record accessible to a wider audience, which here does not sound ingratiating, but rather the author’s humility, awareness of the purpose, respect for the audience. And at the same time, to write an arrangement that is not average but is amusing even for demanding listeners.”
Tomáš S. Polívka, Magazín UNI (01/2019)
„The rich diversity of this album is open to all listeners who are tired of the pathos of pop singers, as well as the omnipresent carols in the public space. You won’t get enough of these carols and Christmas inspiration here. You can pretty well believe me.“
Life and Happiness of Julian Tuwim
(Animal Music, 2017)
“It is important to say that her music is not only a guide to the poet’s messages through the singer’s pleasant, cultivated voice, but is so distinctive that it can also stand as an independent instrumental suite; apparently this is due to her experience writing and arranging for the Concept Art Orchestra. There is no doubt that the “Tuwim” project with its musical charge will rank among the few pearls of our contemporary jazz.”
Vladimír Kouřil, Hudební rozhledy (12/2017)
“It may be an album of songs, but in reality the music plays much more than an accompanying role. Štěpánka Balcarová actually managed to set a poem to music for all the songs (each in a different way), but at the same time to write a full-fledged jazz composition that could work even when the human voice is replaced by another melodic instrument.”
Vernal
(Amplión, 2017)
The second name of Inner Spaces is lyricism. This is what Štěpánka Balcarová brings to the album, not only with her playing on the trumpet and (due to the nature of its sound) especially on the flugelhorn, but also with her sense of improvisation and composer’s contribution.”
Ondřej Bezr, Lidové noviny, 28. března 2017
“The music in the seven tracks on the new Inner Spaces album is extremely colorful, contemplative, immersive, wisely calm, pleasantly flowing, but the listener feels excitement inside; I don’t hesitate to call such music excellent cool-jazz of the 21st century!”
Jan Hocek, Jazz port, 28.2. 2017, Inner Spaces ohlašují jaro
„The music is typical modern Eastern European Jazz, with excellent compositions full of melancholy and lyricism and a rather foggy atmosphere of contemplation and anticipation,…“
Concept Art Orhestra — The Prague Six
(Animal Music, 2015)
“The revelation of the current line-up of the CAO and its compositional background seems to me to be a developmental shift in the history of Czech orchestral jazz.”
Inner Spaces
(2010)
„Many debut albums prove to be rather naïve in retrospect, but I am happy to say that this one lost absolutely nothing of its original magic and is completely immune to time.“
Rozhovory
- Martin Brunner, Štěpánka Balcarová, Symfonický orchestr Českého rozhlasu
Tomáš S. Polívka, Magazín UNI (03/2022)
- Děti vnášejí do umění svěžest
Tereza Dusová, Žena a život, (číslo 10, 12. května 2021)
- Baví mě propojovat lidi
Alena Sojková, Týdeník rozhlas (od 22.3. do 28.3. 2021)
- V hudbě se snažím nebýt direktivní
Ondřej Bezr, Lidové noviny (9. března 2021)
- Concept Art Orchestra: Nesoudit, ale trochu vybízet
Tomáš S. Polívka, Harmonie (01/2021)
- Concept Art Orchestra a vánoční písně s přidanou jazzovou hodnotou
Milan Tesař, Harmonie, 12/2018
- Sto let českých dějin jako jazzová suita
Milan Tesař, Magazín UNI 09/2018
- Náměty si vozím třeba z hor
Tomáš S. Polívka, Lidové noviny (9.října 2017)
- Recenze: Štěpánka Balcarová — Life and Happiness of Julian Tuwim
Milan Tesař, Harmonie, Recenze (11/2017)
- Fascinuje mě role prostřednice
Tomáš S. Polívka, Magazín UNI (02/2016)
- Žen v jazzu je obecně málo
Tomáš S. Polívka, Právo (26. ledna 2016)
- Jsme spřízněni!
Tomáš S. Polívka, Harmonie (08/2015)
- Wywiad ze Štěpánką Balcarovą
Andrzej Kalinowski, Jazz i okolice (7. srpna 2013)
- Vyšší forma lásky
Milan Tesař, Harmonie (11/2012)
- Určitě budeme výborně učit
Milan Tesař, Harmonie (06/2011)
- Inner Spaces
Monika Okrój, Jazz Forum (3/2011)