Jason Bentley on Jon Hassell

When I was in college, exploring new genres of music with a voracious mind, albums by Peter Gabriel, Talking Heads, and Brian Eno led me to this Trumpeter and Composer named Jon Hassell.

Hassell’s compositions were sprawling atmospheres, sampling his trumpet through effects and synthesizers (long before sampling techniques were commonplace), and incorporating world music influences to create a hybrid sound he called Fourth World music.

It wasn’t so academic, as it was a feeling.

Hassell is a precursor to the Ambient and Electronic music so prevalent today.

As you can imagine, it was a special honor to have him perform new works on Morning Becomes Eclectic, and to pay respects to such a visionary musician.