Jazzism interview (may/june 2016)

TranslationSUSANNE ALT – Completely in the Groove At some point, she had enough. Not of jazz, but of the jazz business. Back then, Susanne Alt took a different direction. That was quite a turning point, the German saxophonist, who currently lives in Amsterdam, says today. An important one! After an excursion into funk/R&B, she immersed herself in the electro-dance world—performing as a DJ with saxophone. Meanwhile, jazz is allowed back into her life—but please, with soul-infused energy.By Arne Schumacher for Jazzthetik 07/08-2026, Germany Right now, I’m having an incredible amount of fun again. Susanne Alt does not necessarily want to talk about a comeback or a return to the jazz world. After all, she has continued to play jazz gigs. However, the impression of a recent, thoroughly fundamental change in her perspective is supported by the release of two albums. Ten years ago, Saxify was released, an album with which she confidently started a whole series of jazz productions. The funk plate of my dreams is how the Würzburg-born musician, who moved to the Netherlands at the age of 18 to study jazz, describes the album. Saxify featured legendary US funk and soul veterans. However, there had already been signs of a radical change—musically speaking. In her classically cast jazz quartet, Alt had always shown a sense of soul-jazz and a passion for grooves, which she says is in her blood. Parallel to my jazz education, I was always interested in other music: pop, funk, dance. When I brought my first band to an end, I was already appearing as a guest with house DJs. These electronic things were viewed with quite a bit of suspicion in jazz circles. For me, it felt entirely natural. Especially in a city like Amsterdam. There was always this vibrant club scene here, where instrumental electronic music was also played. That really appealed to me. This shift was preceded by a years-long struggle for recognition, gigs, appropriate payment, and ultimately, economic survival as a jazz musician. In 2003, after a three-year study phase in Berlin, she had returned to the Amstel River, bringing with her—besides her highly developed craftsmanship—an artistic maturity and an individual expression. And she knew she absolutely wanted to be independent. A year later, the saxophonist (who plays soprano as well as flute alongside alto) released her debut album on her own label, Venus Tunes. With each subsequent production, her career advanced. On the other hand, she had to realize that achieving a better status in the jazz world did not automatically translate into appropriate financial compensation for concerts. The frustration grew—in many respects. As a bandleader, always having to drag everyone along under the old model, and just trying to make it work, was extremely exhausting and ultimately really annoying. Looking back, she has to laugh, even when thinking about the sometimes lethargic band memebers. Even with all the pressure and stress, I was still in a relatively good position, despite the cultural-political conditions in the Netherlands, which have worsened since 2010. But I felt a musical stagnation. I just didn’t want to keep repeating myself. The transition with Saxify reshuffled the cards. After Alt was booked more and more as a soloist for DJ sets, people began asking her if she would like to DJ herself. She took the step. And she gradually established herself as a DJ, with her sax always a key part of it. It was just a breath of fresh air. Sometimes it’s healthy to do something else. I wanted to see how it would develop. Meanwhile, tracks from Saxify were making the rounds in remixes by respected club producers. To bring everything back to the stage, she founded her all-female trio Venus Tunes Live. Soon it became clear that all of this was also economically highly rewarding. Whether she missed jazz during those years? No, not really, she smiles. That changed slowly in the wake of the Corona crash. The result: a whole new series of compositions—and an incredibly well-cast studio production in February 2022 in New York City, featuring James Hurt (keys), Gerald Cannon (b), and Willie Jones III (dr). This session yielded enough material for two albums at once. Royalty for Real is an homage to trumpet player Roy Hargrove. With Dark Horse, she recently followed up with an album that emphasizes the groove side through a strong use of keyboards. Her alto sax sound is better than ever. You can hear that Susanne Alt feels completely comfortable in this context, which unites different aspects of her journey. She also speaks of a new focus. And she is once again leading a live band, a six-piece working band. Does she feel a new inner balance? I feel completely in motion right now! As you change, you see everything as an enrichment, because you stay active and grow. You look at things and think: What is my role in the grand scheme of things, what can I contribute? I don’t want to hear the endless complaining anymore. Part of this mindset includes her teaching activities; alongside sharing her broad experience at the University of Arts in Arnhem, she is involved in targeted cultural-political engagement. This includes strengthening the network of jazz communities to help jazz advance even in difficult times. Under the banner of a good groove! Current Albums:Susanne Alt: Dark Horse (Venus Tunes) - Thank you Jazzism for dedicating your space for my story! Special thanks to Angelique van Os for realizing it!English:Susanne Alt Funks awayShe feels very lucky, after more than 8 years Susanne Alt’s funk album Saxify with 36 guest musicians is finished, heroes like Fred Wesley, Jamal Thomas, Gary Winters and Rodney “Skeet” Curtis. “These are musicians I have a special connection with.”“It was a dream for a long time to make a funk album where all my heroes play on. I wouldn’t have thought that they all would agree on participating or having time for it. This idea for “Saxify” came up when I worked on other projects, around 2008. The first recordings were in 2010, I had to start early because everyone has a full agenda. At the same time I wanted to release a live album with my jazz band (Live At Bimhuis, 2011). And I took part in a coaching project by Muziekcentrum Nederland of which the recording of my fifth jazz album “How to kiss” (2012) was part of. Because of releasing the live album Saxify became a precious project because the productions were partly at the same time. I am lucky I could manage financially, thanks to all the performances along with dj’s.”Technology“I am a big fan of 70’s and 80’s big funk bands like Parliament Funkadelic, The S.O.S. Band, Tower Of Power, Maceo Parker and George Clinton. Clinton for example always had a lot of tracks which have been recorded by diverse musicians. That’s how he built a big archive of tracks. That’s really cool, that way you get diverse records and not so much a band sound but an exciting, varied sound. Modern technology allows musicians to record in their own time. One musician recorded in Los Angeles; Maceo Parker’s guitar player Bruno Speight recorded at night in The Hague after a show and another time on a free day in Amsterdam. I had two proper studio days with drummer Jamal Thomas and two percussionists, one studio day for horns with Fred Wesley and Gary Winters. Yes, there are many vocals on my album. During the process I found out that all of my favourite 70’s funk albums have vocals. So I decided to have some kind of vocals in every track!”Spade work“Patience and logistics were the biggest challenges. Because I wrote and produced everything I had moments where I thought it never would be finished. I often was editing for hours and hours. Despite the spade work and persisting I trusted that it would eventually lead to a good result. The fact that some of the best musicians play on it, put som pressure on me, of course also the Dutch musicians. The recordings should reflect everyone’s abilities and the guys should be happy about the result. Until now, everyone was pleased and even touched. I also found it important that some people should be heard on Saxify who deserve more recognition like keyboard wizard Ewald Ebing and Lars Karakusevic. Those guys are incredibly funky. I have a special connection with everyone in this album and most of the people I’ve known for may years. It was important for me to release Saxify on vinyl but it’s also available on cd. It’s a rare item with fantastic musicians; that makes me feel blissful.” (Angelique van Os)