Štepánka Balcarová Quartet

With her new album, trumpetist and composer Štěpánka Balcarová, the recipient of the Anděl Award for the best Czech jazz album of 2022, delves deep into human emotions. As her main source of inspiration she quotes her recent experience of becoming a mother: “With parenthood, certain emotions acquire a completely new dimension. I used to think I knew what it meant to be angry or indignant, for example. I was able to rationalize such emotions, draw relevant consequences and thus come to terms with them. With children, however, we often find ourselves in situations that don’t allow for such distancing and we need to relearn dealing with these emotions that suddenly have a much greater impact on us. Luckily, this immediacy affects not only the negative emotions but the positive ones as well. I’ve come to see both in an entirely new light.”