Those who believe that Würzburg born Amsterdam based Susane Alt would just sit on Candy Dulfer’s domesticated horse to serve the formula “Woman on saxophone” would find out different when hearing her version of Charlie Parker’s Au Privave. The 47-year-old convinces with a slimmed-down, fully self-contained take on the classic, in which she neither has to copy Bird, Dulfer, nor anyone else, but simply serves Alt pure on alto sax. Not only is her tone crisp, full-bodied, and enormously flexible, the lines also follow a distinct emotional logic. “Dark Horse,” recorded like its predecessor “Royal For Real” in New York with keyboardist James Hurt, bassist Gerald Cannon, and drummer Willie Jones III, represents a quantum leap in her career. Originally planned in part as a homage to Roy Hargrove, Susanne Alt ultimately took over compositional command and uses the bebop, groove, funk, and soul dialects to open many doors for saxophonist and flutist Susanne Alt. What emerges is a fine example of creativity, communication, and freedom.
on 29/01/2026