The German-born saxophonist Susanne Alt (1978) has lived and worked in Amsterdam for many years. She is a valued colleague in the Dutch jazz scene, playing in various styles and ensembles. Alt loves funk and modern electronic music, and she performs with DJs. For her sixth studio album, she returned to the hard bop of the prematurely deceased trumpeter Roy Hargrove. Alt traveled to New York to record seven acoustic tracks and entered the studio with three top American musicians.
The virtuosic bebop and soul jazz of Hargrove, who passed away in 2018 at the age of 49, had inspired Alt for years, but it was especially Roy's ballads that made a deep impression on her. The trumpeter, with his background in gospel and blues, could convey a lot with just a few notes. Susanne met Hargrove and played with him during late-night jam sessions at festivals, including the North Sea Jazz Festival. During the pandemic, she decided to record an album as a tribute to Roy.
She did this with veterans James Hurt on keyboards, Gerald Cannon on bass, and Willie Jones III on drums. The latter two played in Hargrove's band for seven years. We hear the quartet in excellent original work by the frontwoman and in Hargrove’s 'Roy Allan', which he dedicated to his father, and 'The Nearness of You', a ballad he often played. Alt plays inventively, strongly, sharply, and "in your face", with obvious enjoyment. The accompaniment is tight, effective, exhilarating, and swinging. 'Royalty For Real' is a worthy tribute.
on 17/05/2024