"Nothing is impossible. That was Susan Alcorn's assessment of the potential of the pedal steel guitar, the peculiar instrument that she made her own. Alcorn passed away at 71 in January 2025 as possibly the world's pre-eminent pedal steel player, driven by a vision to bring as much out of it as possible and, in doing so, to gracefully apprehend and interpret whatever music caught her interest."
"Adapted from colonial Hawaiian steel guitar and adopted by country musicians in the 1950s, the pedal steel is a remarkably versatile instrument. Produced by an array of pedals and levers that involve nearly the whole body, and an endless system of tuning and setup configurations called copedents, its sliding tone spirals allow players a freedom of expression that complicates the instrument's reputation as a signifier of honky-tonk Americana."
"Alcorn saw how far the pedal steel could go, and spent over 50 years traveling the world and expanding its vocabulary-into tango, Chilean nueva canción, jazz and classical quintets -all while noting how each of these musical traditions coursed through the material cultures that created them, emerging out of the day-to-day debris of history."
Susan Alcorn, who passed away in January 2025 at age 71, was a pioneering pedal steel guitarist who fundamentally expanded the instrument's possibilities. Adapted from Hawaiian steel guitar and popularized by country musicians in the 1950s, the pedal steel uses pedals, levers, and tuning configurations to produce sliding tones that allow remarkable freedom of expression. Alcorn spent over 50 years traveling globally and integrating the pedal steel into tango, Chilean nueva canción, jazz, and classical music. In her final years, she collaborated with Philadelphia duo Nomad War Machine, resulting in Contra Madre, her first posthumous album and venture into metal-influenced music. This unconventional collaboration exemplified her lifelong commitment to exploring the instrument's untapped potential.
Read at Pitchfork
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