There Stands the Glass

I had only a passing familiarity with Jon Gibson’s name when he died this week. In its obituary of Gibson, Pitchfork notes he “performed in the premieres of Terry Riley’s In C in 1964 and Steve Reich’s Drumming in the early 1970s... Gibson was also a founding member of the Philip Glass Ensemble.” Are you kidding me! Gibson was the Zelig of American minimalism.

I’m confident I was on the cusp of catching up with Gibson. I traveled to outsider music festivals in 2018 and 2019. And I heard Max Richter and the American Contemporary Music Ensemble in Austin last year. Three Bang on a Can Marathons and viewings of Glass’ “Akhnaten” and "Einstein on the Beach" expanded my ears even further in recent months.

The enlightening experiences primed me for Gibson’s Songs & Melodies, 1973-77. Although it was released in February, I only investigated the compilation upon receiving news of Gibson’s death.

Each of the seven compositions on the 80-minute reissue is more transparently emotional than the works of Reich and Glass. The varying instrumentation and textures are made congruent by Gibson’s minimalism-meets-New Age treatments. The particularly expressive "Melody IV" allows me to properly grieve the loss of the important artist.

October 2020 Recap: A Monthly Exercise in Critical Transparency

Jon Gibson, 1940-2020