Jazzpodium 05-2011

(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. - Thorsten MeyerLive ist ja bekanntlich immer alles besser. Da haben die Musiker das direkte Feedback des Publikums, da sind keine störenden Trennwände zwischen den Musikern und sowieso ist alles viel spontaner. Die holländische Saxophonistin Susanne Alt bestätigt dies nicht nur, sie liefert auf ihrer ersten Live-CD auch noch ein weiteres Argument: Man kann- wenn Musiker und Plattenfirma es wollen- einen kompletten Abend auf CD dokumentieren, ohne Schnitte, ohne Kompromisse. Alt tut dies mit den zwei Sets ihres Amsterdammer Konzerts vom 14. Oktober 2010. Die einzelnen Nummern sind ausnahmslos von Alt und ihren drei Mitstreitern (pianist Thijs Cuppen als Fender-Monster, Bassist Sven Schuster mit grandiosen arco-Akzenten und Schlagzeuger Philippe Lemm mit schlanken Grooves) filigran aber schnörkellos komponiert, voller eingängiger Themen und voller Stimmungswechsel- auch wenn meistens die Groove-Post abgeht. Der Konzertsituation entsprechend werden die Stücke ausgiebig solistisch erforscht. Im Zentrum bleibt die Bandleaderin. Geschmeidig schwingt sie sich durch die zwischen Smooth-Jazz und funkig angehauchten Mainstream changierenden Stücke. Alt ist dabei weniger die neue Candy Dulfer, als eine junge Barbara Thompson. Der kompakte Sound ihrer Band hält über das komplette Konzert die Spannung. Man wäre gern dabei gewesen, aber vielleicht findet Susanne Alt ja auch demnächst den Weg in hiesige Jazzstätten. Ein knackiger, funkiger Abend wäre jedenfalls gesichert.EnglishThosten MeyerAs we all know, live is alwys better. As the musicians have direct feedback from the audience, there are no interfering partitions between the musicians and anyway everything is much more spontaneous. The Dutch saxophonist Susanne Alt confirmed that not only do they deliver on their first live CD also another argument: you can-when musicians and record company want- document a full-evening on CD, with no cuts, no compromises. Alt does so with the two sets of her Amsterdam concert on 14 October 2010. The individual numbers are all written by Alt and her three colleagues (pianist Thijs Cuppen as Fender monster, bass player Sven Schuster, with great arco accents and drummer Philippe Lemm with narrow grooves) delicately but composed straightforward, full of catchy themes and full atmospheric changes, even if most of the time it's about the groove. The concert setting to match the pieces to be explored extensively as a soloist. In the center is the band leader. It swings smoothly through the between smooth jazz and funk-tinged mainstream iridescent pieces. Old is not so much the new Candy Dulfer, as a young Barbara Thompson. The compact sound of her band keeps the voltage across the entire concert. We would like to have been there, but perhaps, too soon Susanne Alt finds her way into local jazz venues. A crisp, funky evening would certainly be secured.