Concentration

Susan Alcorn
Alcorn- pedal steel gtr.
 

Here are seven collaborations Susan Alcorn, high priestess of boundary-pushing pedal steel music, did for the High Zero Festival in Baltimore in 2004. In Alcorn’s hands the instrument is capable of an astonishing range of sounds. If you’ve only heard mainstream musicians play the instrument, you probably wouldn’t recognize her stuff as pedal steel at all. Don’t let that stop you (I didn’t think it was about to). These ensemble pieces are highly knitted together; Alcorn is but one voice in the mix. “Four Mountains, Four Rivers” is gamut-stretching-which I guess is only appropriate considering the title. “Queen is Always Pregnant” charts a furtively coherent path through what you get when the radio fades in and out of channels at night. There’s high-level musicianship throughout, it demands your utmost concentration, and it’s more than worth it. A decidedly intense experience.

Recorded- 017

www.highzero.org

Richard Grooms