Podiuminfo 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. - Door Willem Swinkels(...) De live registratie van het jazzconcert is verdeeld over twee cd’s, die beide weer bestaan uit acht nummers. Dit geeft de artiesten de tijd en ruimte om eens flink los te gaan op de nummers. Ze zijn niet beperkt tot de slechts drie minuten die een popliedje normaal in beslag neemt. Hierdoor valt naast de individuele muzikale kwaliteit ook nog eens op hoe goed de muzikanten op elkaar zijn ingespeeld. Allen krijgen en nemen ze de ruimte om zich te profileren en via de beide cd’s krijg je dan ook een heerlijk jazzconcert voorgeschoteld. De nummers zijn allemaal eigen producties en van een ontzettend hoog niveau. Het is wel duidelijk waarom radio 6 deze cd kroonde tot week cd. Zelfs een niet geoefende jazzluisteraar zal moeten erkennen dat dit kwaliteitsmuziek is. (...) Wanneer je live en ook nog eens in een enkele take dit soort cd’s op weet te nemen, ben je een hele grote en verdien je tot de laatste letter alle lof die door de scene over je wordt uitgesproken.EnglishThe live recording of the jazz concert is on two CDs, both of which again consist of eight numbers. This allows the artists to take the time and space to go for it. They are not limited to only three minutes, which normally occupies a pop song. In addition to individual musical quality also it appears as well how well the musicians respond to each other. Everyone gets and takes the space to present themselves and through the two CDs so you get a great jazz concert. The songs are all their own productions and a very high level. It is clear why this cd was crowned as Radio 6 CD of the week. Even an inexperienced jazz listener will recognize that this is quality music. (...) When one is able to record live, and also in a single take, these CDs, one is a very big one and you deserve all the praises which is spoken throughout the whole jazz scene.