Jon Gibson - In Good Company (1992)

Jon Gibson is a composer and a musician (saxophone, flute), born in Los Angeles in 1949, who played a key-part in the American minimalist scene. He played works by the most important composers in this trend, such as Steve Reich (1963-1972), Terry Riley (1964-1966) and Philip Glass (from 1968). He collaborated with composers such as La Monte Young, Frederick Rzewski, Alvin Curran, Anna Lockwood, to name but a few.

"In good company" is his first solo album, released on Point Music, the record company created by Philip Glass. Indeed, Jon Gibson is here in good company: this record is produced by Michael Riesman, who also plays keyboards, La Monte Young plays digital piano, Martin Goldray plays piano, and John Snyder and Bill Ruyle are credited for various percussions.

Jon Gibson plays compositions by Steve Reich, John Adam, Terry Jennings, Philip Glass and Terry Riley. He also plays his own compositions, and my favorite one is the very ambient and moody "Extensions II".

This is a beautiful and intimate record, built around Gibson's various saxophones and his unique way to play with them.  From the hypnotic repetitive structures of Steve Reich to the lyrical minimalism of Philip Glass, from the raga structrues of Terry Riley to John Adams, Jon Gibson is travelling freely through the history of American new musics.

link: mp3 / 320

JGIGC.zip

password: olduvai

Chris Hughes - Shift From the music of Steve Reich (1994)

Point Music was a record label that was started in 1992 as a joint-venture between Philips Classics and Michael Riesman and Philip Glass. It specialized in cutting-edge contemporary Western music. It was shut down in 2002.

Chris Hughes was fascinated by Steve Reich's music since his childhood, when his father took him to see the European premiere of Steve Reich's Drumming at the Hayward Gallery in London. 

The Shift project started as Chris Hughes pushed forwards his exploration of Steve Reich's musical universe. He met Steve Reich in the mid-80's and decided to work on a series of variations on Reich's early works.

Shift is strongly inspired by Drumming, Violin Phase, Piano Phase and adds something special to the original Steve Reich's works. 

The Synclavier provide Steve Reich's music with a new geometry, a new temporality, new patterns of repetition and variation. 

Shift is a deep exploration of the world of rythms and patterns, of loops and phrases, of electronic gamelan and sequences. Mathematics and time-codes create a unique hypnotic and ambient climate, where space and time are manipulated through computer programming.

By the way, Chris Hughes became one of the most famous British producers and drummers and he worked with Peter Gabriel, Robert Plant, Enya, Tears for Fears, Paul Mc Cartney and Wang Chung, to name but a few....

Here is the user's guide to this Shift album: "Melt in the sofa, close your eyes, relax and listen". Do it !

link / mp3 320

Shift.zip

password: olduvai