Gentle Pedal Steel Improvisation

Gary Peters is the author of two books, both published by the University of Chicago, on improvisation, Improvising Improvisation: From Out of Philosophy, Music, Dance, and Literature and The Philosophy of Improvisation. In this short solo improvisation, he lets the music do the explaining. The piece, simply titled “Gentle Pedal Steel Improvisation,” moves from a slow, old-timey opening through a more modern exploration of tentative scales and ambiguous atmospheres, as if shifting from Oliver Wallace to John Zorn, or from Les Paul to Bill Frisell, in a few elegant minutes. It’s a lovely, thoughtful live performance, one I had playing on loop for quite a while. More of Peters’ music at garypeters.bandcamp.com.