AJ Somewhere between folk, pop and jazz is a place called MarZ – the musical universe of the Czech singer, guitarist and songwriter Markéta Zdeňková. Her songs orbit themes ranging from confessional to lighthearted, cerebral to shamanic. She writes mostly in Czech and has a real talent for beautiful melodies that remain true to the cadence of her native language. This has enabled her to find a growing audience that crosses styles and generations. Next to Markéta, at the core of MarZ is co-founder Štěpán Janoušek (trombone/backing vocals/ percussion/ arrangements), a standout virtuoso on Prague’s new wave of young jazz instrumentalists in his own right. His signature brilliance comes through in the band’s dazzling arrangements. Their first album, "Na rozcestí” (Amplión Records, 2017) was a beautiful introduction to the unique MarZ soundscape. In 2018 the duo expanded to a quintet, although they keep performing also as a duo regularly. In March 2020, they released their eponymous album on Tranzistor Records. This time you can listen to their original duo with a surprisingly rich sound.