Electronic Music Pioneer Patrick Gleeson Has Died At 91
Patrick Gleeson, a synthesist, composer, producer and engineer who helped pioneer the use of synthesizers in jazz, experimental music and film, died July 19, 2026, at the age of 91.
Born November 9, 1934, Gleeson moved to San Francisco in the 1960s, where he began exploring electronic music at the San Francisco Tape Music Center. He experimented with early Buchla electronic instruments before becoming inspired by Wendy Carlos’ Switched-On Bach, and acquired a Moog III modular synthesizer.
Gleeson co-founded Different Fur Recording Studio in San Francisco with John Vieira in 1968. The studio became an important center for electronic and experimental music, hosting artists including Herbie Hancock, Devo, Brian Eno and David Byrne.
Gleeson helped pioneer the use of synthesizers in live jazz performance, and Hancock later credited him with introducing him to synthesizers. He collaborated with Hancock on the albums Crossings (1972) and Sextant (1973) and toured as part of Hancock’s band.
Gleeson also maintained a wide-ranging career as a producer, engineer, performer and composer. He produced or performed on more than 100 albums, working with artists including David Byrne, Brian Eno, Devo, Freddie Hubbard and others. He served as producer and engineer on Devo’s 1978 debut, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!, and contributed to Byrne and Eno’s My Life in the Bush of Ghosts.
As a solo artist, Gleeson released Beyond the Sun – An Electronic Portrait of Holst’s The Planets in 1976, an electronic interpretation that earned a Grammy nomination for Best Engineered Classical Recording.
Wendy Carlos wrote the line notes for the album, saying:
“Our eight-year wait for someone else to explore electronic music realisation with what we judge to be appropriate technical standards and musical taste has ended. One hears the ears of a gifted musician at work, in a field where one must exercise unprecedented discipline and self-control.”
Later work included electronic interpretations of Star Wars and Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, jazz recordings and more. Gleeson also contributed synthesizer work and compositions to film and television, most notably on Apocalypse Now.
Gleeson remained active into his ’80s, performing live at events like Moogfest in 2019 and Synthplex in 2022.
Here’s the video for Gleeson’s The Leap, recorded live with Michael Shrieve and Sam Morrison:
via Drew Schlesinger, Michael Shrieve, BMF
