Mainpost review of Susanne Alt + Phel D.J. 29-10-2017

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. - English (it was quite hard to translate, if you have suggestions, please lt me know):Super Sax with Susanne Alt at the jazz festivalThe program, curated by Jazzinitiative, convinced with musical diversity following the premise “Everyone has a different view on jazz”. It was the 33rd jazz festival: A lucky number, big party!More than 400 Listeners were impressed by the original ideas of the bands and soloists performing during the 2 evenings at Felix-Fechenbach-Haus. A big variety within this almost unlimited genre was displayed. The slogan of th festival is “Jazz made in Germany; without losing touch with the international character of different styles and shapes.Spontaneity shapes the performance4 of the bands - all on advanced level - had saxophone in a dominant role. Super Sax stands for Susanne Alt. The Würzburg-born fell in love with the metallic woodwind instrument during school and she made quite a name in the international scene by mastering the instrument very well.She opened the Sunday evening with a project band. This band never performed in this constellation before. Dirk Rumig and Susanne Alt had communicated in advance via mail about compositiory ideas. Spontaneity on the spur of the moment characterised this catchy performance.The attractive artist presents herself in a dashing black dress accentuating the legs, wearing high heels. While playing, she convinces with her alto saxophone, turns up the volume of the dj player to match her full sound and is supported by Johannes Liepold, full of verve. His tenor saxophone communicates with Dirk Rumigs’ bass clarinet. Looking for the final chord, the three horns awaken to new life again and again and keep developing, integrating some funk and disco vibes.Fired by beatboxingThey are fired by Pheels’ breathtaking beatboxing, replacing drum batteries. He creaks, rattles, cracks and chirrups, produces stifled sounds and hysteric bangs. Susanne Alt animates the audience to clapping along, balances her sparkling melodies through the packed audience and ends the set with a one-of-a-kind version of her album title “Saxify”. Loud applause also for the next band, “Distances”. Founded by Würzburg bass player Georg Kolb, lead by compositions by the Venice piano player Marco Ponchiroli, vehmently blown by Lithuanian saxophone player Jan Grinbert and accompanied by Bulgarian drummer Nevjan Lenkov, the band showed high class jazz. The acclaimed evening was ended by the Berlin band The Bootyjive. Saturday night was a bit more pop rock, with vocalist Tobias Christl Wildern and the 6-pice band Black Project. Christian Muthspiel (trombone, piano) and guitar player Steve Swallow topped of this evening.Link: Mainpost/Super Sax mit Susanne Alt beim Jazzfestival