Oor april 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. - Click to enlargeEnglish: Funk was never far away in Susanne's instrumental jazz work but now she goes for it. More than 30 (inter-)national musicians are standing by her on this unadulterated steamy party album. A heavy job, logistically already. Files must have been sent back and fourth and edited endlessly. Very clever that the album is going like a bomb. Full speed. Top cats like Roger Smith (keys), Fred Wesley (tyrombone), Gary Winters (trumpet, flugelhorn) push up the vocalists and vice versa. It doesn't lead to songs as such but super jazzy jams with a bizarre amount of colors and variation. Susanne handles flute, soprano, alto, tenor sax. Also she composed, arranged and produced about everything herself. Without any restriction: Saxify is a true magnum opus.