Haarlems Dagblad Interview

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 here! You have to create a (free) account to read the full article.Thanks to Peter Bruyn for this great article!!!EnglishSaxophonist Susanne Alt at Haarlem Jazz & More: Improvising or colouringHaarlem - Playing together with a dj is what saxophonist Susanne Alt likes most, she says. “Because I get the space to improvise and let it all out. But playing along with a dj I also can step back and choose to only add some musical flavour to the record.” Susanne will play with dj Dennis van der Geest on Thursday night at Grote Markt.She was born 38 years ago in Würzburg, Germany, plays saxophone since she’s 12 years old and decided to stay in the Netherlands after her jazz conservatorium study. More than 10 years ago she started her own jazz quartet which became more and more influenced by funk.Maceo ParkerOn her album “On Track” from 2009 there was a remarkable contribution of special guest Fred Wesley (trombone), known from his work with James Brown, George Clinton and Maceo Parker. Earlier this year Susanne surprised us with her luxurious double LP “Saxify”. Here she continues moving towards funk.People who compare her with Candy Dulfer, got it wrong, the saxophone player says. “It’s so lazy. Just bcause we both are women who play saxophone. I have a lot of respect for Candy, as a saxophone player and her professionality. But our musical starting points are very different. Candy is more into David Sanborn, while I am rather inspired by Maceo Parker, Parliament Funkadelic, Bernie Worrell, Tower Of Power, and the horn section of Earth Wind & Fire. That deep funk. Heroes in my youth were saxophonists Joshua Redman and Maceo Parker. When someone pointed out that Maceo had worked a lot with George Clinton, a whole new world opened for me.”E1 TenA common factor between “Saxify” and George Clinton and his groups is the big amount of musicians on “Saxify”, both musicians and vocalists. 36 musicians in total, at least 10 per track, sometimes more so the album sound is a bit overwhelming and inescapable. The musicians include Lorrèn Rettich (performing wednesday night with her own group at Haarlem Jazz & More) and E1 Ten, (previous) rapper and singer of the Haarlem band Gotcha!. “We were introduced by friends and I had seen him on stage with George Clinton. I invited him to my studio for an afternoon to record one track but it became two. He’s such a strong personality on stage. That’s why I wanted him on my album.”Free roleSusanne likes to play with dj’s and she likes to play a lot. Sometimes five times a week, in clubs, festivals and parties. “ Then I have a free role and I enjoy a lot to see the crowd go crazy”.She’s been working with countless dj’s: Maestro, Roog and also regularly with ex judo champion Dennis van der Geest. “I’ve known him for a long time. What I admire in Dennis is his focus on achievement. It’s inevitable that he’s always working on improving himself. Make it even tighter. Top sport mentality. At the same time, musically and artistically he always gets it right. If someone doesn’t have taste you can feel it, it sounds like crap. But Dennis never mixes the wrong key or something lik this. His choices are well-thought. He called me weeks ago to prepare the music for Haarlem Jazz&More. That’s Dennis.”