Pianist and composer Kristina Barta is enjoying growing appreciation within the European jazz scene; she stands out among her male colleagues as a spectacular jazzwoman and ambassador of Czech music. Fiery and forceful – is how reviewers describe her style.

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She presented herself to listeners in lucid strokes with her 2017 debut album EMA29, which was three years in the making. Critics lauded its lyric melodies, distinctive appeal, and fresh approach to jazz standards. She made another splash at the Montreaux Jazz Festival in 2018 and is now looking to JazzAhead in Bremen in 2021.

Kristina fostered her education at the Jaroslav Ježek Conservatoire and then under Prof. Karel Růžička at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. She performs solo and with her sister, the jazz vocalist Martina Bárta, and participates in various projects. Her line-up triumphed at Jazz Fruit 2012, a contest organised by the Mladí ladí jazz Festival. Since 2015 she has performed at clubs and jazz festivals with her Kristina Barta Trio. That same year she entered the Bohemia Jazz Fest to win its JazzPrix. Her composition Find Peace of Mind was recognised as the Best Jazz Work of 2016 by a jury jointly authorised by the Czech copyright protection collective OSA and the Bohemia Jazz Fest.

Although Kristina made her first studio recordings with her starting band Kikina B as early as 2011, she released her debut album EMA29 in 2017 under her artist name and with a line-up that included Jan Feč and Marek Urbánek, with guest performances by Kryštof Tomeček on the guitar, Miroslav Hloucal on the trumpet, Karel Růžička Jr on the saxophone, David Friedman on the vibraphone, and the children’s choir of the Ratibořická Street Children’s Art School, where Kristina teaches.