03-2009 - Jazzism

(De Limburger, 05-06-2025)Translation:‘Funk and Fireworks’ with Susanne Alt at the Last Jazz aan de SjtasieAfter this coming weekend’s edition, Jazz aan de Sjtasie in Swalmen will come to an end. During the farewell weekend, among others, Susanne Alt will perform—saxophonist and DJ in one.SWALMENPAUL VAN DER STEENSaxophonist Susanne Alt (47) has been performing with DJs since the late 1990s. In 2015, a booker called her with the question whether she also DJed herself. As a joke, she answered “yes.” And if you say A, you must also say B… “I took a few lessons to learn how to DJ and then just put in the hours. It has enriched me. As a saxophonist, you’re more focused on your own solos. A DJ needs to have a much broader perspective. You have to sense the atmosphere. Then you decide what kind of music is needed. There’s also quite a bit of technical knowledge involved.”In 2016, she decided to combine playing saxophone and DJing for her tour with the funky album Saxify. That act grew into Venus Tunes Live, the formation with which she will play at Jazz aan de Sjtasie in Swalmen this coming weekend. “No matter what lineup we perform with, it’s always only women. That’s been a wish of mine for a long time. Because of the automatic way in which male bands are always booked again and again. You rarely see women even in supporting roles or only as singers.”HighlightsThe band’s lineup changes. “It also depends on the wishes of whoever books us and what else is on the program. Sometimes it’s me with one singer and one percussionist, with all three of us DJing as well, to two singers, a violinist, a percussionist, and myself on sax and as DJ. The music also varies, depending on the type of audience and the atmosphere: sometimes it stays fairly mellow, other times it’s all about funk and fireworks.”Alt, born in Germany but now living in the Netherlands longer than she ever lived in her homeland, wants performances to be more than one-way traffic. “They only become real highlights when there’s social interaction: between musicians and with the audience. You can move people with your playing, but also get them to sing and dance along.”TributeBesides Venus Tunes Live, Alt still tours with the material from her jazz album Royalty for Real, which was released early last year. The idea for that album arose during the pandemic. “With all the time to reflect, I concluded that it was time for a real jazz project and it became a hommage to trumpeter Roy Hargrove (1969–2018). I’ve always admired him. Because of his playing, with which he could say so much with so few notes. Especially his ballads have always stayed with me. Also I loved the way he approached jazz; he always was looking for jazz sessions where he could join and play, encourage other musicians.. I recorded Royalty for Real in New York with musicians Roy often played with.”Hargrove, along with Joshua Redman, was one of the musicians who first introduced the then-teenage Alt to jazz. “Both my parents worked in music. But they didn’t listen to jazz. I myself had classical saxophone lessons since I was twelve. In Bavaria, where I grew up, saxophone was mainly destined for concert bands. But I knew the saxophone was also a real jazz instrument.”VideotapesAlt went looking for the music herself. “I would record jazz concerts on videotapes that aired on TV at night. And I went to the library to read biographies of musicians and dive deeper into jazz history.”Hargrove and Redman were not only gifted instrumentalists, but also young and cool. Years later, she met them at jam sessions at festivals like North Sea Jazz.“I didn’t push myself forward there, but waited calmly for my moment. If you didn’t immediately play a five-minute solo, the famous Americans also liked getting to know the local musicians that way. I immediately had a good connection with Hargrove. A kind of friendship developed.”In the coming years, Alt wants to play many styles mixed together and provide entertainment. “For me, there’s only bad and good music. I like to contribute to good music. And in my case, it preferably has to groove.”Jazz aan de Sjtasie takes place 6th, 7th and 8th of june at the previous station in Swalmen. performing artists are a.o. Benjamin Herman, Han Bennink, Hans Dulfer, Philip Catherine, Mike Roelofs and Bart Oostindie. - Sjeng StokkinkMischien komt het omdat ik nietsvermoedend onlangs een optreden van dit Quartet bijwoonde in het Bimhuis, dat een soort release party voor dit- alweer derde- album bleek te zijn. Misschien ook komt het doordat ik hun vorige albums Nocturne en Delight- eveneens in eigen beheer uitgebracht- heb gemist en Susanne Alt alleen maar ken van haar jams met dj's als Maestro en Phil Horneman. Maar ik ben dus helemaal weg van dit Quartet, dat bestaat uit fantastische muzikanten die ook nog eens hele goeie nummers kunnen schrijven. En waarbij funky invloeden niet vreemd zijn, vandaar dan ook dat zowel trombonist Fred Wesley (drie keer) als Maceo's gitarist Bruno Speight (vijf keer) van de partij zijn. De amper 30-jarige in Wuerzburg, Duitsland, geboren en in Amsterdam woonachtige Alt (haar ware naam)speelt al op dit instrument sinds haar twaalfde en heeft inmiddels een internationaal niveau bereikt. Je zou denken dat een in Nederland wonende altsaxofoniste klinkt als Candy, maar niets is minder waar. De overige Quartetleden verdienen ook genoemd te worden: toetsenman Thijs Cuppen, bassist Sven Schuster en de veelbelovende benjamin, drummer Philippe Lemm. Met On Track ziet hun toekomst er dermate schitterend uit, dat ze maar snel zonnebrillen moeeten aanschaffen. EnglishMaybe it’s because I went to a concert at Bimhuis without knowing about the band, which turned out to be the release concert of the third cd. Maybe it’s because I missed the releases of Nocturne and Delight (…) and because I only know Susanne Alt from her jams with DJ Maestro and Phil Horneman. But I am blown away by this quartet which consists of fantastic musicians who also can write very good compositions. And funky influences are not too far gone, that’s why Fred Wesley as well as Bruno Speight have been joining in. The just 30-year old Alt (her real name), born in Wuerzburg, Germany and residing in Amsterdam, plays this intrument since she’s 12 and has already reached an international standard. One could think that a female sax player who lives in the Netherlands, sounds like Candy, but this isn’t true. The other quartet members also deserve to be mentioned: key man Thijs Cuppen, bassist Sven Schuster and the promising benjamin Philippe Lemm. The future looks bright for them, so bright they should hurry up buying sun glasses.