ALCORN, SUSAN - And I Await The Resurrection Of The Pedal Steel Guitar

"This is the fifth solo offering by the Houston, Texas based pedal steel sorceress, Susan Alcorn. The Heart Sutra" opens and is inspired by the "Sutra of the Heart of Transcendent Wisdom", which was delivered by Buddha 2,500 years ago. It is a beautiful, yet solemn work that reverbates from within as Susan strums those magical strings. The title track, "And I Await the Resurrection of the Pedal Steel Guitar", was inspired by Messiaens "Et Expecto Ressurectionum Mortuorum". It is a near 16-minute epic of stirring, haunting sounds. Each note is stretched out and floats like a spirit on the wind in a graveyard. Ms. Alcorns approach to the pedal steel guitar is completely unique and she doesnt quite sound like anyone else. If one is patient enough, they will realize that she makes every note and space count. "The Glass is Already Broken" is another piece in which each melodic fragment is touching, somber and well-selected, yet it drifts into a more sinister area. "The First Turning of the Wheel" was inspired, oddly enough, by the late Bob Graettinger, composer & arranger for Stan Kentons classic album, "This Modern World/City of Glass". I am not quite sure how this music is related to Kentons modern big band work, but again I was moved by the solemn spaciousness. For "The Second Turning of the Wheel", the notes are again softly stretched out and immensely eerie. On "Three Minute Warning", Susan lets each sound swirl and be bathed in a haze or a ghost-like echo." - Bruce G. (Downtown Music Gallery)