Susanne Alt - Royalty for Real (2024)

Bringing together soul, blues, funk, and nods to the bop tradition, ‘Royalty for Real’ is an effortless, modern, and soulful exploration of groove, melody, and improvisation. Recorded at EastSide Sound in NYC, the warm, organic production presents the band in a raw, intimate fashion, giving the listener a front seat to the exchange of energy and ideas between the experienced quartet.

From the driving ‘Bel Air Bop’ - an ode to those late-night North Sea Jazz Festival jams in The Hague’s Bel Air Hotel,, the feel-good groove of ‘Rue Lepic’ - a tribute to the Hargrove classic ‘Strasbourg Saint-Denis’, a delicate rendition of ‘The Nearness of You’ - a ballad often heard in Hargrove’s repertoire, to a reinterpretation of ‘Roy Allan’ - a piece Hargrove wrote for his father, the record sees Alt offer up pieces of her identity as a composer and soloist to one of her greatest heroes.

Joining Alt are notable veterans of the American jazz scene: Bassist Gerald Cannon played in Elvin Jones’ band for years and served as McCoy Tyner’s musical director and drummer Willie Jones III has toured with the likes of Milt Jackson and Arturo Sandoval - the pair played together in Roy Hargrove’s own band for seven years. Keys virtuoso James Hurt is known for his versatility and has collaborated with the likes of Abbey Lincoln, Sherman Irby, and Jacques Schwarz-Bart.

Susanne Alt - saxophone
Timothy Banchet - piano
Thomas Pol double - bass
Yoran Vroom - drums
Danique Kos - percussion