When Susan Alcorn passed away unexpectedly last year, it came as a shock to the free jazz scene. At the age of 71, she still had plenty of plans, including trio albums with Lori Freedman and Mat Maneri on the one hand, and with Ingrid Laubrock and Leila Bordreuil on the other. But obviously there were other projects as well, such as her collaboration with Nomad War Machine, the Philadelphian improvisational metal duo consisting of drummer Julius Masri and guitarist James Reichard. Alcorn’s roots lie in the Texas Western swing scene of the 1960s and 1970s, which she repeatedly combined with new classical music and free improvised music. So, in retrospect, it’s not surprising that she was constantly looking for new challenges and that metal could be an appealing starting point for her to explore new musical territory. Apart from the fact that Masri and Reichard have also been interested in country music, there was another intersection: Alcorn was enthusiastic about oriental music (she had studied the oud and the maqam) and Julius Masri, who comes from Lebanon, is also deeply rooted in Arabic musical traditions. Also, James Reichard has always been interested in xenharmonic music and open guitar tunings, which are more at home in the music of the Middle East.
The music on Contra Madre cannot deny metal influences, however the atmosphere presented is rather gloomy rock. It’s primarily Masri whose driving rhythms are responsible for this rock element, while Reichard throws in hard power chords or atonal arpeggios, over which Alcorn then lets her pedal steel float lightly. The alternative to these rather quiet parts are those when the pedal steel and the guitar start fighting. It sounds as if Ry Cooder was jamming with Earth and at some point they throw tonality overboard. This can be heard exemplarily in “Boiling Vortex”. The piece begins almost idyllically, as if it wanted to describe a picturesque landscape, before an alienated blues riff quickly emerges, foreshadowing evil. The vortex is by no means a gently swirling pool of water. The musicians take their time to build up this dark atmosphere. After about four minutes, violence reigns supreme, the tempo increases, the music seethes, howls, crashes and screams from all corners until the improvisation literally threatens to boil over. Even as a listener, it takes your breath away - and the tension doesn’t cool down until the end of the piece.
In the liner notes Lee Gardner of VG+ Records says of Alcorn and the album: “I started the label because of Susan. (…) All throughout 2024, she kept talking about this record that she'd made with these "metal guys" from Philly. (…) I texted with her on a Thursday in late January of 2025 about meeting the following Monday to make plans to talk about the new record. She suddenly, shockingly died the following day. I would eventually hear the record she made with Julius and James, and would meet them for the first time at a memorial concert for Susan in Philadelphia. I’m honored and humbled that they have trusted me to put this one more bit of Susan’s music out in the world.“
We, the listeners, are glad that VG+ made this wonderful recording available for us. Certainly one of the highlights in 2026 - even if it’s only March.
Contra Madre is available on Vinyl and as a digital download. On bandcamp you can listen to “Boiling Vortex“ and buy the album.
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