NRC, 19-02-2024

(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. - (NRC, 19-02-2024)Translation:FocusSusanne Alt on jazz trumpeter Roy HargroveHe was the epitome of infectious jazzIn his hotel room, Roy Hargrove always played cassette tapes of pure bebop: Miles Davis, Charlie Parker. All uptempo. He constantly wanted to be in a jazz flow of playing and listening. He also enjoyed playing with soul artists like D'Angelo, funk musicians, and rappers. I learned from him that it's okay to be a dedicated jazz musician and still have an interest in other genres.Saxophonist Susanne Alt, who resides in Amsterdam (born in Würzburg, 1978), pays tribute to the early deceased, influential American jazz trumpeter Roy Hargrove on her new album, Royalty For Real, with whom she was friends. It marks a return for her to acoustic jazz after Alt developed an electronic sound in recent years and established herself as a DJ and producer. The album was recorded with former band members of Hargrove.Roy was one of the first musicians I truly became a fan of. He was the epitome of infectious jazz. His sound moved between very lyrical and very exuberant, almost like gospel. He didn't play as many notes as others. Sometimes, the barrage of notes from others becomes a bit of a circus for me, so that really appealed to me. Wherever he played, he would always jam afterwards with young local musicians. That's how I got to know him when I was seventeen. A year later, I saw him again at the North Sea Jazz Festival in The Hague. Afterwards, musicians often played next door at the Hotel Bel Air in The Hague until dawn. There I was on stage with Roy, but also with drummer Questlove and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis. Unbelievable. I've tried to capture that atmosphere on the album in the song Bel Air Bop. We became friends, I always tried to search him up when he was in the area. For him, jamming was really the foundation, the beauty of spontaneous interaction. It's not just about musicians among themselves, but also about the audience. Jazz isn't just listening music for the elite, but about having fun and making connections. Roy made jazz more open and inclusive.I was so devastated when he passed away. I was in a hotel room in Prague in November 2018 and saw the news on Facebook. I actually thought he could go on for a long time, despite his kidney disease. He was only 49 years old.I recorded this album, dedicated to Hargrove, in 2022 in New York with musicians from his circle. I was lucky that it was still the tail end of corona, drummer Willie Jones III and bassist Gerald Cannon were just in town and were happy to participate. They both played in Roy's band for seven years. Keyboardist James Hurt is also a world-class player.I was a bit starstruck in the studio, I must admit. We're colleagues and have gotten to know each other over the years, but I was still mainly just a fan of them. Still am, actually. I had to redo a few solos because of nerves, or because I was distracted because what they played was just so beautiful.Leendert van der Valk The album Royalty For Real is out now.Concert: 24/3 Lantaren Venster, Rotterdam; 1/6 Verkadefabriek, Den Bosch