Susan Alcorn Quintet: Pedernal

  Pedal steel guitar is generally associated with country music, but the instrument’s characteristically malleable sound is well-suited to improvisation. Susan Alcorn has provided the evidence for a while now, beginning with Uma, a 1999 trio date and continuing with collaborations that include luminaries of progressive music, including Joe McPhee, Ken Vandermark, and Nate Wooley. (I recommend reading her musical journey here). Her latest project is the Susan Alcorn Quintet with frequent collaborators Mary Halvorson on guitar, Michael Formanek on bass, and Ryan Sawyer on drums, plus violinist Michael Feldman. The band’s enthusiasm on Pedernal, a program of five original compositions by Alcorn, is infectious. Starting out with the mellow (at first) title track, it’s obvious that this is a string band with a difference. There’s plenty of mutual history among the players, and their level of comfort is integral to the music’s success. No matter where the improvisations take them, the common bonds ensure that the music will never fly off the rails. I’m captivated by the blended sonorities of violin, pedal steel guitar, electric guitar, and bass. Alcorn’s music is quieter than you might expect from a quintet, forcing close listening from musicians and audience alike. That kind of concentrated attention pays off in unexpected nuances and surprising juxtapositions. Violinist Feldman, with an amazing list of past associations in improvised music circles, is prominently featured here. His rich tone and thoroughly lyrical approach are perfect for Alcorn’s sturdy melodies. There are times when I feel like the music would benefit from a little more rhythmic vitality, in the vein of the closing Northeast Rising Sun. This perky number features a curiously muted guitar solo by Halvorson, some hip fiddling by Feldman, and a masterful bass solo by Formanek. It might be my favorite piece on the disc, but there is plenty of exquisitely honed music to come back to again and again. Recommended. 

Relative Pitch RPR 1111; Michael Feldman (vln) Susan Alcorn (pedal steel g) Mary Halvorson (g) Michael Formanek (b) Ryan Sawyer (d); Brooklyn, NY, November 12, 2019; Pedernal/ Circular Ruins/ R.U.R./ Night in Gdansk/ Northeast Rising Sun; 42:00. relativepitchrecords.com