Aboutjazz.de (juli 2016)

Nederlands Jazz ArchiefEnglish:Saxophonist Susanne Alt hails from Germany but has long been a part of our jazz scene. Royalty For Real has the aura of a prestigious product. It is also a tribute to the late trumpeter Roy Hargrove. Hargrove was fond of participating in the after-hours sessions at North Sea Jazz; Alt occasionally played alongside him there – hence Bel Air Bop, one of the seven tracks. The saxophonist/flutist wrote five of the tracks herself, in addition to The Nearness of You and Roy Allan by Hargrove. The album was recorded in February 2022 in New York with pianist James Hurt, bassist Gerald Cannon, and drummer Willie Jones III. - Thank you Sven Sorgenfrey for this amazing review! Click to enlarge to read in in German, for English scroll down.Original text: aboutjazz.de English:You need a strong antidote to this north german summer, especially if one still has to fill in the tax return. Thanks to Susanne Alt I can cope with the circumstances during these weeks. Her new album “Saxify” is like fresh cheerful funk fireweorks. You wouldn’t guess it’s from North Europe.Born in Würzburg, living in Amsterdam, she plays her saxophone with recognizable North Carolina idiom. Maceo Parker plays 98% Funk and 2% Jazz, she plays 12% Jazz, adds 20% Hiphop without reducing the Funk part. Equals 130%. The ingredients: powerful drums (Jamal Thomas), pointed bass lines, cookie dry and crispy saxophone and guitar licks, asymetric licks, laser sharp horn parts, synthetic keyboard sounds, vocals (often call&response). It’s grooving and funking to one’s heart’s content and only very very few people accomplish this.Also, the album is produced so tight, filled with ideas - there one more sound, there one more lick, an unexpected break, a lustily laughter - one likes to listen and gape again and again.Susanne Alt was in charge of everything: She composed, arranged and produced the tunes, played alto, tenor (and soprano, added by admin), played flute and sings backing vocals. With superb intuition she invited suitable musicians who’s personal styles she fuses together to a harmonious entity. You can hear a.o. Fred Wesley, Michael Hampton, Michael “Clip” Payne, Tracy Lewis, Rodney “Skeet” Curtis, Scott Mayo, Bruno Speight, Jamal Thomas, Reggie Ward, Glenn Gaddum Jr, Gary Winters and the fantastic Berenice van Leer.Lyrics were created as a team. It doesn’t always work out. A sample: “we feel the advantage of the energy around us” - poetically there’s some space left upwardly open. But there’s also: “Open up. Look around. Realize: Life is good.” This is verbalized so concisely it carries one through everyday life.The slow songs are - like Maceo - solidly delivered duty. One needs it to take the pressure off on stage. Afterwards everyone is happy when the party continues even more crispy.Susanne certainly makes good on a promise: “you will be, you will be surprised, saxified.”