CultuurpodiumOnline 01-07-2016

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. - Read the original article on cultuurpodiumonline.nlEnglish:Susanne Alt makes a real statement with her new album SaxifyAlto saxophone player Susanne Alt let’s the listener swing with her new grooving and funky album Saxify, An album with mainly steamy tracks with jazzy, funky and hiphop influences. Neat riffs and tight saxophone sounds will be heard in your livingroom when the record is played.Alt moves in a different direction with Saxify than before. She used to have more of a jazz sound of pure and melodic rhtythms. Nou she’s on excursion towards the other side of the jazz genre. Funk with swinging rhythms, vocalists and samples which can b heard throughout the tracks.Tight soloMore than 30 guest musicians helping her to bring this album alive. On title track “Saxify” vocalist Lorrèn, trombonist Fred Wesley and guitarist Bruno Speight can be heard. The singer has an important role. It’s a fresh and strong track. “Wednesday Funk” shows more of the musicians. Fred Wesley plays a nice solo and Alt lets it all out on her saxophone. The result is a tight solo and meets the ear pointed and nicely. In the background you hear the vocalists and it’s one big party.It’s a bit different that what we are used to hear from her. And not just something different . Imagine you put 30 musicians together on an album. A whole new sound emerges and every track is different. It all stays in funk genre but sometimes she reaches back to jazz. It can be heard especially in her solos.Melting potNot only guest musicians from abroad can be heard, like Rodney „Skeet” Curtis, Scott Mayo, Michael Clip Payne en Gary Winters but also Dutch artists like SaraLee Vos, Robert Glass, Mavis Acquah, Daan Herweg, Paul van Kessel, Hans Dulfer en Stefan Schmid. Mix those together and you will get a melting pot of musicians which communicate extraordinarily well together. The album sounds nice and will be liked by many non-jazz-lovers. She put a funky sauce over it which makes it a unique production. When you listen to the album more often you can recognize the style of Candy Dulfer and makes the style of Alt which is very outspoken a bit more mainstream. Nothing wrong with it, because you hear something different and like that she shows that she has to offer diversity for her fans and music lovers. A delightful album for the sultry summer nights which hopefully will come soon.