City Paper Article on Pedal Steel Improviser Susan Alcorn

From the macro to the micro.  As much as I love a band like Phish, who can fill up 20,000 seat sheds all across the country playing incredibly complex music for masses under the guise and convention of a rock concert, I also love the idea of the relatively unknown (or completely unknown) musical explorer who creates challenging and/or artistic music on a daily basis whether there is an audience there to hear it or not.

One such musician who is revered among lovers of improv and the avant-garde, but who is perhaps not well known outside of that community, is the Baltimore-based pedal steel guitarist and improviser Susan Alcorn.  I've only been aware of her music for a few months, but I've quickly gathered up most of all of her recordings that I can find.  Some of these include burned CDs that Susan made and signed herself.  Talk about DIY!

Alcorn's new album Soledad interprets the music of the Argentine tango composer and accordionist Astor Piazzolla.  Spoiler alert: chances are strong that this album will find its way onto my best of the year list.  It's the perfect music for a lazy Sunday morning.  I might be listening to it here shortly.  But first, I wanted to share a link to a well done feature from Baltimore's City Paper on Susan's music and the new album.  Please continue reading:  http://www.citypaper.com/news/features/bcpnews-one-to-tango-susan-alcorn-brings-her-pedal-steel-guitar-to-argentinian-tango-20150630-story.html

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