Heather Leigh

b0b · Post by **b0b** » 25 Oct 2018 8:30 pm

If you thought Susan Alcorn was the only experimental jazz steel player on the planet, you need to check out Heather Leigh.

www.wishimage.com/bio

Hook Moore · Post by **Hook Moore** » 26 Oct 2018 1:18 am

Indeed !

Tal Herbsman · Post by **Tal Herbsman** » 26 Oct 2018 6:24 am

Wow. She plays with some European free music royalty. That's very impressive.

Here's an image from her website which I think contrasts well with some of the more typical VFW type situations people on this forum encounter

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 26 Oct 2018 7:28 am

It's a whole 'nother world across the sea, eh?

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 26 Oct 2018 9:41 am

"The slide, the vocal quality, the moving between the notes... the levels of psychedelia you can reach on this instrument... I just can't believe it. So that's when it became my instrument."

She starts talking about her involvement with steel guitar around 31:30.

Interesting woman, and she speaks to a demographic totally foreign to the great majority of we "forumistic," if you will, steel players.

Floyd Lowery · Post by **Floyd Lowery** » 26 Oct 2018 10:15 am

Herb Steiner wrote:
"The slide, the vocal quality, the moving between the notes... the levels of psychedelia you can reach on this instrument... I just can't believe it. So that's when it became my instrument."
She starts talking about her involvement with steel guitar around 31:30.

Interesting woman, and she speaks to a demographic totally foreign to the great majority of we "forumistic," if you will, steel players.

I guess I'll just have to continue to reside among the great majority. I'll never make it to 31:30. Not even close.

b0b · Post by **b0b** » 26 Oct 2018 12:36 pm

I think I have adventurous musical tastes but, to be honest, I can't listen to her music for more than a minute or two. It's too disturbing.

R. E. Miller · Post by **R. E. Miller** » 26 Oct 2018 5:32 pm

Herb Steiner wrote:
"The slide, the vocal quality, the moving between the notes... the levels of psychedelia you can reach on this instrument... I just can't believe it."
Well...she definitely means what she says...

Tony Glassman · Post by **Tony Glassman** » 26 Oct 2018 7:36 pm

No me gusta

Ken Byng · Post by **Ken Byng** » 27 Oct 2018 12:01 am

I much prefer to listen to Susan Alcorn of the two, but I don't think either of the ladies can be described as producing jazz music.

Both ladies' music are acquired taste, but Heather's is way too eccentric and dare I say it - out of tune - for my taste and ears unfortunately. Sorry.

Chris Templeton · Post by **Chris Templeton** » 27 Oct 2018 5:17 am

Yes, hard to listen to for very long. The difference to me, between her and Susan is that Susan has a solid foundation of standard steel.
The Melodyne computer program would have a field day with her music.

Fred Treece · Post by **Fred Treece** » 27 Oct 2018 8:57 am

Not my cuppa java either, but I am always interested in expanding my own musical horizons. So thank you for posting this anyway, b0b. It is encouraging to know there is an audience out there for just about anything.

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 27 Oct 2018 9:28 am

Different strokes for different folks!

Erv

Bill L. Wilson · Post by **Bill L. Wilson** » 27 Oct 2018 9:30 pm

I pulled up a YouTube video of her and a horn player. The steel was out if tune, and the horn player sounded like somebody “Killin’ a Cat”. I got that quote from a comment off of YouTube and it made me laugh out loud.

Frank Leppert · Post by **Frank Leppert** » 13 Oct 2022 3:29 pm

I just knew that she is going to play in my city Coimbra tomorrow. I am very happy to see steel playing live, not very usual in Portugal.

Bob Hoffnar · Post by **Bob Hoffnar** » 14 Oct 2022 12:30 pm

Mentioning Susan Alcorn in the same breath as Heather Leigh is absurd. Susan is a masterful player and a true innovator. I have unfortunately had the experience of going to a live concert of Heathers. She has absolutely nothing to say with any originality and her abilities as a player don't exist. She cannot hold a musical conversation because she is unable to go beyond the few tired and poorly played tricks she as bumped into. I went to a concert and it was straight up embarrassing. I love avant playing and all sorts of stuff but crap is still crap no matter what you dress it up with.

Larry Dering · Post by **Larry Dering** » 14 Oct 2022 5:22 pm

Thank you Bob for speaking the truth. I absolutely agree with your comments. Nothing to see here.

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 15 Oct 2022 6:17 am

The "Jackson Pollock of music", maybe?

Let's not forget that Frank Zappa started out playing a bicycle on the old Steve Allen show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QF0PYQ8IOL4

`

Fred Treece · Post by **Fred Treece** » 15 Oct 2022 10:16 am

Donny Hinson wrote:The "Jackson Pollock of music", maybe?

Let's not forget that Frank Zappa started out playing a bicycle on the old Steve Allen show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QF0PYQ8IOL4

`

Yeah, because the obvious question arises - Is this brilliant and innovative art, or does this person have not the slightest idea of what they are doing and just noodling away at something for which they have no talent?

I, for one, have not the slightest idea of what she is doing. As a musician, that bugs me and makes me suspicious. Frankly, a lot of what I listen to baffles me, but usually in a good way that I can actually enjoy the mystery. In the case of Ms Leigh, whose work I do not enjoy, I will give her the benefit of the doubt and keep my dark thoughts about some folks being swept up in a great con to myself.

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 15 Oct 2022 5:56 pm

I'm with 'ya, Fred. But "art" has always been hard to define. Most of the paintings that Jackson Pollock has done looks like painter's drop-cloths, to me. But they can sell for up into the millions of dollars.

Success is sometimes measured not by talent, but by popularity.

Roger Rettig · Post by **Roger Rettig** » 16 Oct 2022 6:37 am

Or, to put it another way, nobody ever lost money by underestimating the public.

rick andrews · Post by **rick andrews** » 16 Oct 2022 4:35 pm

Donny,
I never got Pollock either. Until I saw several up close. Standing within a couple of feet from them I was mesmerized.

Brint Hannay · Post by **Brint Hannay** » 18 Oct 2022 8:02 am

She starts talking about her involvement with steel guitar around 31:30.

31:30 in what? I don't seem to find a link to any video/audio in the thread.

Bob Carlucci · Post by **Bob Carlucci** » 19 Oct 2022 2:48 am

Yeah, I dunno... I made similar sounds within the 1st 10 seconds of sitting down at a pedal steel. I didn't think it was musical at all at the time.. Won't say much more bad about it, but this is not what I personally would say is good music. However it may be her musical taste and what she hears and desires to convey artistically. She may may able to play conventional steel guitar music at a very high level for all we know, but this is simply what she likes.. Hey look, somebody buys it, she's playing for more people than most of us are! I like the OLD pre Micro, pre Classic MSA guitar by the way!

Glenn Suchan · Post by **Glenn Suchan** » 20 Oct 2022 5:21 am

Donny Hinson wrote:I'm with 'ya, Fred. But "art" has always been hard to define. Most of the paintings that Jackson Pollock has done looks like painter's drop-cloths, to me. But they can sell for up into the millions of dollars.

Success is sometimes measured not by talent, but by popularity.

Donny, before I go into the “nature” of Jackson Pollock’s art, I first will say that I find your posts enjoyable, if not informative and mostly entertaining.

Regarding Pollock’s painting: During his life and after, most people, professional art critics included, didn’t/don’t understand the intentional reason for his art. He was fascinated with the seemingly randomness, but mathematical aspects of nature. This is, the fractal nature of nature. Here’s an article that explains it better than I can:
https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sc ... s-fractals

As for using steel in non-conventional compositions, I, like most others on this thread, don’t hear intentional musicality or composition with Heather’s ‘music’, but then, mine is hardly a knowledgeable opinion. However, I find Robert Rich’s use of steel (lap steel, in this example) in his ‘dark ambient’ compositions to be interesting, musical and completely supportive of the intent of his compositions: Here’s an example:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7yYdpHsR1GI

Keep on pickin’!
Glenn

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Heather Leigh

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