“Blue” Gene Tyranny, a pianist and composer who played with Iggy and the Stooges during their Raw Power tour, died, New York Times reports and Pitchfork can confirm. Tyranny died Dec. 12 in hospice care in New York City from complications of diabetes. He was 75 years old. “Blue was a dazzling enigma of generosity and brilliance,” Unseen Worlds wrote in a post on Instagram announcing his death. Find their full statement below.
Tyranny’s extensive artwork began in her youth; in high school he curated concerts of contemporary music and performed works by avant-garde composers such as John Cage and Charles Ives. He was eventually invited to audition for Juilliard as the main performance, but did not graduate from a prestigious school because he was more interested in composing.
In the mid-1960s, Tiranny played in the blues band Prime Movers with Iggy Pop (then known as Jim Osterberg). Years later, when Iggy and Stooges were released Raw Power, Tyranny joined the band on tour. In addition to his work with Iggy Pop, Tyranny has collaborated with jazz composer and arranger Carla Bley, Laurie Anderson, Bill Dixon, Peter Gordon and others. Tyranny’s most famous partnership was with composer Robert Ashley. The two of them worked for years, especially in 1979 For the record only, and several of Ashley’s operas, including Perfect Lives (private parts),, Dust, i Heavenly excursions.
2012 was released by Tyranny Bypasses, his first album on Unseen Worlds. In 2019, Tyranny and Peter Gordon released a joint record Confidence in rock on the label. Earlier this year, it was released by filmmaker David Bernabo Just for the record: Talks about the “blue” genetic tyranny, a documentary that explores the works of Tyranny.