Jon Gibson

Two Solo Pieces

★★★

Jon Gibson follows a certain school of minimalists in the vein of an early Steve Reich or Terry Riley. This release on Philip Glass's label is an example of just that, a simple but useful album that showed what was brewing up at the time.

Made up of an organ piece and a flute piece, it's reminiscent of Steve Reich's earliest works, such as Four Organs: Phase Patterns. While this was new and innovative for the time, now it pales in comparison with what came after it. It's only a piece of history which is important, but has since been greatly expanded upon by many; even Reich himself. 

The organ piece is undoubtedly the better of the two, and really I recommend only listening to it for that wonderful work. The slight shifts and changes are hard to pick up on the first listen, and with an organ that's quite astonishing. It's expansive and heavy, like those lead blankets you get thrown on your chest for an x-ray. 

The flute piece, "Untitled", is supposed to draw you into the flute as an instrument and its inner workings. Yet I didn't feel any of that; much like Reich's "Four Organs", it's a concept piece. Not very enjoyable or complex, a simple repetition that goes nowhere. 

Favorite Song: Cycles