Jon Gibson (minimalist musician)

Jon Gibson (March 11, 1940 – October 11, 2020) was an American flutist, saxophonist, composer and visual artist, known as one of the founding members of the Philip Glass Ensemble. He was a key player on several seminal minimalist music compositions. He was born in Los Angeles to Charles and Muriel (née Taylor) Gibson, both educators, and grew up in El Monte, a suburb. Education Gibson studied at Sacramento State University and later at San Francisco State University with Henry Onderdonk and Wayne Peterson, where he earned a BA in 1964. His earliest work as an improviser and composer also dates from around this time, when he performed in the New Music Ensemble with composers Larry Austin, Richard Swift, and Stanley Lunetta. Career Gibson used various instruments from around the world in his performances of jazz and classical music. He was a founding member of the Philip Glass Ensemble, and his mastery of circular breathing techniques made him crucial to the development of Glass’ sound. Glass stated, “To put it bluntly, the music wouldn’t have happened without that.” Gibson performed in the premieres of In C by Terry Riley and Drumming by Steve Reich, as well as Reich’s 1967 composition