Program 815: Susan Alcorn, Pedal Steel Pioneer and Music from Ukraine
KALW Broadcast Date: March 2, 2025 | Host: Ed Herrmann
A tribute to Susan Alcorn, the late pedal steel guitar player. One of few women who took up the instrument, she pushed the boundaries, playing jazz, improvised music, and other styles not usually associated with the pedal steel guitar. This program features selections from three of her albums: arrangements of music by Astor Piazzolla on Soledad, improvisations from Touch This Moment, and a quintet playing Alcorn’s jazz-inspired compositions on Pedernal.
Three years after their country was invaded, Ukrainian composers are defiantly making music. We’ll hear two of them. Alla Zagaykevych is a professor at the National Music Academy and the founder of the Electroacoustic Music Studio in Kyiv. Oleh Shpudeiko composes for games, films, and dance; creates sound installations; and reimagines medieval music with modular synthesizers.
Program Audio
30-Second Spot
Track Info & Links
Title: Pedernal, Northeast Rising Sun
Composer: Susan Alcorn
Performer: Susan Alcorn Quintet
Recording Title: Pedernal
Record Label: Relative Pitch Records
Title: Gilmor Blue, gnes Martin – Specchio Nero
Composer: Susan Alcorn
Performer: Susan Alcorn
Recording Title: Touch This Moment
Record Label: Uma Sounds
Title: Soledad
Composer: Astor Piazzolla
Performer: Susan Alcorn
Recording Title: Soledad
Record Label: Relative Pitch Records
Catalog Number: RPR1032
Title: Suite for AHL
Composer: Susan Alcorn
Performer: Susan Alcorn
Recording Title: Soledad
Record Label: Relative Pitch Records
Catalog Number: RPR1032
Title: Dostochka
Composer: DakhaBrakha
Performer: DakhaBrakha
Recording Title: Alambari
Title: Pagode
Composer: Alla Zagaykevych
Performer: Jorge Isaac
Recording Title: Motus
Record Label: nexsound
Catalog Number: ns38
Title: Heroneya
Composer: Alla Zagaykevych
Performer: Ensemble FRESCOES
Recording Title: Motus
Record Label: nexsound
Catalog Number: ns38
Title: Voice/Way
Composer: Alla Zagaykevych
Performer: Alla Zagaykevych
Recording Title: Kaleidoscope
Record Label: Flaming Pines
Title: various tracks
Composer: Oleh Shpudeiko
Performer: Heinali (Oleh Shpudeiko)
Recording Title: Kyiv Eternal
