AMBIV w/ Noah Simpson

Creative Music Guild’s Improvisation Summit of Portland Night 17 – Left of Center, Yucky Jazz

Wednesday, October 29th
Skyline Tavern

Portland, OR 97229
$15-30
8pm
Left Of Center
Yucky Jazz

Left Of Center is the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Alex Meltzer and musical polymath Machado Mijiga, seamlessly blending free improvisation, loops, and step sequencing to create a sonic multiverse that exists in the pocket dimension between jazz, electronica, and avant-garde.

Multi-instrumentalist and Portland native Machado Mijiga wears many hats, both literally and metaphorically. Classically-trained, jazz-weathered, and eclectically inclined, Mijiga left the proverbial creative “box” at a very early age, with access to many instruments and a diverse musical background brought about by an intercultural heritage. Mijiga is a musical polymath; composer, producer, bandleader, educator, gear fanatic, and audio engineer, to name a few. Mijiga can be seen touring with GRAMMY-winning band, Portugal. The Man throughout the year, among the many Portland-based groups he leads and supports when back home. Authenticity and uniquity assume the locus of Mijiga’s artistic identity. Self-expression is the prime directive, and the medium of choice changes like the weather.

YUCKY JAZZ

Yuck is a Portland based musician who can often be found supporting other artists in the city.
They have a deep love for many styles of music and attempt to blend those influences together
to form a cohesive sound that is their own. From folk to gospel to jazz, you’re liable to hear it all
at any given Yuck concert.
Their solo electric project Yucky Jazz often features dear friends and combines raw virtuosic
instrumentalists with elements of hip-hop production and covers of unconventional songs that
ensures a fun evening whenever they step out.

Creative Music Guild’s Improvisation Summit of Portland Night 13 – Late Night w/ Skerik, George Colligan, Eric Gruber, and Michael Raynor

SKERIK

“Hardening of the categories leads to Art Disease.” – John Medeski

Decade upon decade, Skerik remains the tireless steward for one of modern music’s most diverse, adventurous & passionate bodies of work.

Skerik’s world is one where dialogue flows freely between wildly disparate strains of musical thought… where no borders exist between jazz & sludge metal, where elements of Congolese soukous dialect might find their way onto the million-selling records of an alternative rock band, where an avant-garde electronic translation of Ornette Coleman’s deepest & darkest fantasies (shared with a select few listeners in a small club) easily attains the same level of satisfaction & meaning as an exuberant explosion of jazz/funk catharsis (shared with hordes of sweaty festival crowds all over the world).

It is a world where all sounds may communicate freely with each other, so long as they all originate from true inspiration & good faith. They may encounter friction & chaos along the way, eventually emerging in a shared harmonious understanding… or perhaps they might remain in friction & chaos, screaming in musical hellfire until the next chapter begins. Safety is never guaranteed in these woods, but boredom will never rear its head. That’s a promise.

It all began in Seattle when a precocious young man took his first few steps on tenor & baritone saxophone, inspired in equal measure by his love for jazz (as inherited from his father), the grittier side of funk/r&b and the experimental corners of rock. An apprenticeship spent working in a wide variety of bands in London, Paris & the South Pacific further expanded his ears & ambitions, and he returned home in the late 1980s armed with a full set of 10,000 hours and an insatiable work ethic that continues unabated to this day.

Back in Seattle, Skerik “accidentally” found himself joining the amazing rock duo SadHappy in 1990 (recording two studio albums & embarking on countless live adventures with the band), and the following year saw the first of many such honors when he won “Best Horns” from the Northwest Music Awards in 1991.

Ever restless, Skerik teamed up with Matt Chamberlain in 1993 to form the singular Critters Buggin, alongside luminaries such as Brad Houser & John Bush (later to be joined by Mike Dillon). Critters’ blend of rock, funk, jazz, industrial & African influences established an utterly unique presence in the explosion of improvisation-focused music that emerged in the 90s, and Skerik’s pioneering incorporation of harsh & abrasive electronic elements ensured that the band’s output was distinguished by a confrontational edge that wasn’t often encountered among the mellow hippie friendliness of the day.

By way of Critters’ rapidly expanding notoriety (along with the flurry of attention resulting from his appearances with Seattle supergroup Mad Season, with whom he featured on both their sole album “Above” and their legendary “Live At The Moore” video release), Skerik’s workload soon grew to include a plethora of new projects that were as stupefying in terms of diversity as they were in sheer numbers. A very short list would include Garage A Trois (alongside Stanton Moore & Charlie Hunter, later to be joined by Mike Dillon & Marco Benevento), Stanton Moore’s solo work, Les Claypool’s Fearless Flying Frog Brigade & Fancy Band, Tuatara (alongside Peter Buck, Barrett Martin, Steve Berlin, Justin Harwood & a rotating cast of Seattle’s most renowned rock & jazz musicians), Ponga, Skerik’s Syncopated Taint Septet, Crack Sabbath, Omaha Diner & The Dead Kenny Gs.

Over the years, it has been Skerik’s enormous honor to tour with Roger Waters, Fred Wesley, Les Claypool, Critters Buggin, Sadhappy, Beta Popes, Skerik’s Syncopated Taint Septet, Garage a Trois, Stanton Moore, Mike Clark, Headhunters, Robert Walter, Ponga, Wayne Horvitz 4+1 ensemble, Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, Bobby Previte’s Coalition of the Willing, New York Composer’s Orchestra, Galactic, Tuatara, Mark Eitzel, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, The Dead Kenny G’s, Black Frames, Maelstrom Trio, Illuminasti Trio, Master Musicians of Bukkake, True Loves, McTuff, Master Musicians of Jajouka & so many more.

In addition, his good fortune has included performances and/or recordings alongside Mad Season, Medeski Martin & Wood, Primus, REM, Bonnie Raitt, Pearl Jam, Ween, Ani DiFranco, Stewart Copeland, Screaming Trees, Charlie Hunter, Larry Coryell, John Scofield, Warren Haynes, Nels Cline, Buckethead, Bernie Worrell, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Shock G, The Coup, PBS, G. Calvin Weston, Josh Roseman, Shazhad Ismaily, Clyde Stubblefield, Kenny Drew Jr, Melvin Gibbs, Sex Mob, Crack Sabbath, Blotallika, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Johnny Vidocovich, George Porter Jr, Funky Meters, Kenny Wolleson, Benevento/Russo Duo, Leo Nocentelli, Earl Harvin Trio, Jon Brion, My Name, Kirk Joseph, Big Sam, Robert Randolph and the Family Band, The Word, North Mississippi Allstars, James Singleton, Somo-Somo, Remy Ongala, Freestyle Candela, Bheki Mseleku, Aubrey Oaki, Mino Cinelu, Bob Stewart, Bill Ware, Brain, Ralph Carney, M.I.R.V., Stone Gossard, Lonnie Marshall, DJ Logic, Jeff Parker, Get It Gurl, Ruth Brown, Howard Tate, Maxi Priest, Steve Berlin, David Hidalgo, Cory Henry, MonoNeon, Steve Kimock, Corrosion of Conformity, Hella, DJ Olive, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Ozomatli, Wolves in the Throne Room, Kayo Dot, SUNN O)))), Master Musicians of Bukkake, DJ Riz, Todd Sickafoose, Scott Amendola, Doze Green, Ernest Ranglin, Dave Ellis, Yoshida Brothers, Gene Ween, Peter Apfelbaum, Jennifer Hartswick, Zigaboo Modeliste, Soulive, DRKWAV, Worship My Organ, Lettuce, Allen Stone, Algiers, Wil Blades, Scott Amendola, Sound Cipher, Lorbo & so many more.

Skerik was inducted into the “Seattle Jazz Hall Of Fame” by Earshot Jazz in 2017, and he is the recipient of numerous awards including “Best Horns” (1991 Northwest Music Awards), “Northwest Jazz Instrumentalist Of The Year” (2003 Earshot Jazz Golden Ear Awards) and “Northwest Alternative Jazz Group Of The Year” (2012 Earshot Jazz Golden Ear Awards, as bestowed upon his group Bandalabra).

All totaled, Skerik has contributed to more than 200 records as a saxophonist and/or keyboardist, and his music has seen worldwide placement in feature films, independent films, TV shows, theater & dance pieces. He continues to make Seattle his primary home (now owning & operating his own studio in the city), and regularly embarks on tours around the world with his ever-expanding cast of collaborators & new things to do.

Boredom remains absent, categories remain useless.

George Colligan is not only one of the great jazz pianists of his generation, but he has earned an international reputation as a multi-instrumentalist (drums, trumpet, organ, keyboards), composer, accompanist, teacher, and bandleader, as well as popular blogger(jazztruth.blogspot.com). Winner of the 2015 DownBeat magazine Critics Poll (Keyboard), he has had a long association with living jazz legend Jack DeJohnette; recent touring took Colligan around the U.S. with “An Evening with Jack DeJohnette and Savion Glover.” He has also recently toured the U.S. and Canada as a leader with his trio featuring legends Buster Williams and Lenny White. With over 130 albums to date as an accompanist, Colligan has worked with a long list of jazz greats, including John Scofield, Buster Williams, Cassandra Wilson, Don Byron, Ravi Coltrane, Chris Botti, and many others. His latest album, “King’s Dream” (PJCE Records 2022) is his 36th as a bandleader, and features PSU faculty and alumni. Colligan, a New York resident for 15 years, now resides in Portland, Oregon where he is a Full Professor at Portland State University. He has recently won two Region Arts and Culture Council grants, A South Arts Jazz Road grant, and a PSU Faculty Development grant. Colligan recently won the PSU College of The Arts Dean’s Council Award for Research, Scholarship and Creativity(2020), and also won the Researcher of the Year Award from the PSU College Of The Arts(2021).

George Colligan has toured, recorded ,and/or performed as a sideman with Lonnie Plaxico, Gary Bartz, Benny Golson, Gary Thomas, Miguel Zenon, Tom Harrell, Steve Coleman, Eddie Henderson, Ralph Peterson, Vanessa Rubin, Steve Wilson, Dave Weckl, Richard Bona, Jane Monheit, Ravi Coltrane, Lenny White, Michael Brecker, Mike Clark, Nicholas Payton, Sheila Jordan, Janis Siegel, Christian McBride, Billy Hart, Charles Fambrough, Mingus Big Band, Al Foster, Mark Turner, Don Braden, Lew Soloff, Gunther Schuller, Larry Coryell, Victor Bailey, Carl Allen, Rodney Whitaker, Lee Konitz, Jamie Baum, Michal Urbaniak, Ron McClure,DJ Logic, Randy Brecker and Stefon Harris, among others.

“Colligan is an equally deserving torch-carrier of the piano trio tradition….” John Kelman , All About Jazz

“One of the best kept secrets in jazz….” Chris Hoven, All About Jazz

“As a creative artist, he’s really up there…. In terms of technique, knowledge of music and improvisational creativity, there aren’t a whole lot of cats from his generation that are any better than him. As a matter of fact, I can’t think of any.”– Don Braden in a blindfold test for Jazz Times

“Pianist George Colligan stole the set with a display of technique that inspired a standing ovation.”-Harvey Siders, Jazz Times, in a review of a Ravi Coltrane concert.

Creative Music Guild’s Improvisation Summit of Portland Night 16 – Ozkat-Ozkat, Duolant & Chris Rorrer, Electric Palace Ensemble

Tuesday, October 28th
No fun
$15-30
8pm
Ozkat Ozkat
Duolant & Chris Rorrer
Electric Palace Ensemble

Okzat-Ozkat is a new collaborative project from Andre Burgos (Brown Calculus, Be Present Art Group), Chris Frank (Frank Irwin Quintet), Alex Meltzer (Korgy and Bass), Jessie Smith (Jessie Smith Big Band, Frank Irwin Quintet), Alexander Thomas (Frank Irwin Quintet, Isabeau Waia’u Walker), and Reed Wallsmith (Blue Cranes, Battle Hymns and Gardens).

The driving force behind Okzat-Ozkat is conversation — finding common ground through listening. It is about empathizing and being open to changing your point of view. It is about rhythmic, melodic, and textural diversity. It’s tension and release. It’s music to write or sketch to. Music to nod your head to. Okzat-Ozkat’s improvised pieces are for the creative and curious listener.

Duolant is the electronic music project of Portland-based producer, Jeff Mettlewsky. Introduced to the synthesizer at an early age, and eventually leading to years of taking piano lessons, the instrument remains a fixture and unifying element in both his composition and recordings. As an artist, Mettlewsky takes inspiration from the natural surroundings found in the Pacific Northwest, following an impulse that drives creativity and curiosity with sound and his music-making in its entirety. His works often explore the combination of traditional instruments with the more experimental elements of the studio. He has designed his own hardware effects that he regularly employs in his music. In 2023, Duolant released a pair of albums on two niche-paving English labels: Waxing Crescent and Woodford Halse.

Cellist Chris Rorrer is a session musician and educator, dividing his time between Southern California and Oregon. When asked to collaborate with other musicians in unfamiliar contexts, he is excited to offer a diverse skill set that complements any musical project in a very immediate way. Chris transitioned from violin to cello at age ten, being fascinated by its characteristic resonance and versatility. His work features an unmistakable attention to nuance that can be heard through unique phrasing and melodic choices. Rorrer seeks to build community, promote peace, and foster healing through his performances and recordings, contributing music that tells a shared human experience to a diverse audience. Chris earned his Master’s degree in cello performance from the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at California State University, Long Beach, in 2020.

In 2020, the historic Skyline Tavern closed its doors to the public and quietly re-opened them to nature & improvisation. Amid wildfires and racial justice protests, Skyline Tavern Project obscured the western saloon facade of the Tavern by covering it in black fabric and forming The Electric ⚡️Palace Ensemble. (E⚡️P E)
Inspired by the spiritual music of John Coltrane’s 1965 “A Love Supreme”, the Electric ⚡️Palace Ensemble composed their 4-part “Transfiguration Suite” in tender response to Coltrane’s original prayer; crafted with love, played with hellfire.
In 2022, E⚡️PE filmed their first performance of the Suite during sunset to a rapt audience of Northern Red Legged Frogs, Great Horned Owls & Lichen.
Today that performance is projected onto the exterior windows of the Skyline Tavern Project every Wednesday evening for the public. And the forest.

“The Transfiguration of the Electric Palace”
Composed by Tate Peterson, Kris Stuart & Matt Cadenelli. Commissioned by Skyline Tavern Project. Creative Commons License 2022.
Performed for Improvisation Summit by Tate Peterson, Chelsea Luker, Jeffrey Langston, Edwin Coleman, Scott ray Becker.
Tate Peterson-Guitar, Effects
Resolectrics, Big E & the Stomp, Asher Fulero, Black Dogs of Skyline
Chelsea Luker-Saxophone, Flute.
The Quadraphonnes, Scott Law Band, Moon Music, Asher Fulero Band
Jeffrey Langston-Electric Bass
Antony & the Johnsons, Kivett Bednar Band
Edwin Coleman -Drums
Three Kings Trio, Lloyd Jones Trio, Kivett Bednar Band
Scott ray Becker- Percussion
Garbage Gurus, Black Dogs of Skyline

Creative Music Guild’s Improvisation Summit of Portland Night 14 – Afternoon at Strum Guitar, Evening at Swan Dive

Sun 26th
Strum Guitar
$15-30
3pm
Lori Goldston + Mike Gamble

Lori Goldston plays written, traditional and spontaneous work on cello, and works as a composer, teacher, bandleader, and prolific, widely varied collaborator. Classically trained and rigorously de-trained, her voice as a cellist is singular, deeply textured and original, investigating thresholds, instability, and connections between far-flung modes of thought.

She lives in Seattle and performs in venues large and small throughout North America, Europe and Australia as a soloist and collaborator with composers, film makers, writers, theater directors, choreographers, visual artists, orchestras and bands including Earth, Nirvana, the BBC Scottish Symphony, Black Belt Eagle Scout, Helms Alee, Mirah, David Byrne, Terry Riley, Jem Finer, Jessika Kenney, Lonnie Holley, Trimpin, Stuart Dempster, Shelley Hirsch, Chloe Thompson, Mike Gamble, Rankin Renwick, Greg Kelley, Ghedalia Tezartes, Senga Nengudi, Ellen Fullman, Lynn Shelton, and many, many others.

Her work has been released on Mississippi Records, Sub Rosa, Nyahh, Relative Pitch, Beacon Sounds, Dasa, K Records, Broken Clover, Sofaburn, Obscure & Terrible, and Full Spectrum.

Mike Gamble is an adventurous guitarist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist whose work with improvisation and new technology predominantly inform his practice. Gamble has spent the last 20 years immersed in the creative jazz, experimental rock and improvised music scene primarily in NYC, with close ties to New Orleans, Burlington, Boston, San Francisco and now the Pacific Northwest. He has had the pleasure of recording over 50 albums and has been touring the states, Canada, and Europe with his critically-acclaimed guitar trio The Inbetweens, Mike Gamble Solo, and alongside doom-metal originators Earth. His more recent collaborators include Bobby Previte, Todd Sickafoose, Nels Cline, Wayne Horvitz, Matt Chamberlain and Lori Goldston.

Since relocating to Portland, Mike Gamble has dived into the jazz and experimental, Pop, Indie Rock, and electronic/modular scene and gigs in several groups including Neighbors, TWANS, 2uo, and GAMSIM. He currently holds a position as a Contemporary Music Industry instructor at Oregon State University, and as a guitar teacher at Reed College. He has been the Artistic Director of Portland’s long standing experimental music organization, The Creative Music Guild since 2016

Sun 26th
Swan Dive
$15-30
8pm
Annual Round Robin hosted by Marcus Rudolph

Marcus Rudolph is an exceptionally creative musician spanning swing, groove and a wide range of dynamics! He will joined by:

Xylyn Hathaway, AJ Stillabower, Alexis Mahler, Jack Maiolo, Rudolfo Lopez, Joshua Phillips

Creative Music Guild’s Improvisation Summit of Portland Night 15 – Bug Farm James Staub, the kgmr band and warm canopy

Bug Farm is a new group led by Dillon Nadler on guitar and compositions, featuring Portland heavyweights Machado Mijiga on drums and Eden Holland on upright bass and modular synthesizers. Making full use of the power trio format, the band explores the intersection of free jazz, experimental electronic music, minimalism, and heavy metal.

https://www.instagram.com/dillon.nadler

James Staub is a composer and programmer based in Portland, Oregon, focused on interactive composition systems, real-time performance software, and algorithmic improvisation.

His improvisational work for cello incorporates custom-made software which models the timbral and temporal qualities of the acoustic instrument into data which controls an accompaniment of electronic voices. With this approach the cello is itself is the controller of the electronics, removing the need for keyboards or other digital interfaces. 

The system is composed of several modules which analyze pitch, harmony, rhythm, dynamics, and timbre over short, medium and long time windows. The synthesis engine, built in MaxMSP, uses a combination of concatenative synthesis, physical modeling, and other techniques to process and manipulate the live sound. 

The goal of this approach is to extend and accentuate the timbral language of cello, while maintaining the nuanced, tactile relationship between the performer and the instrument. 


jamesstaub.com
muddywires.bandcamp.com/
instagram.com/j_a_m_e_s__a__s_t_a_u_b/

The kgmr band is a Portland-based duo made up of kgmr (keyboards, samples, field recordings, noise, vocals) and Bobby Read (guitar, bass, drums, violin, samples, field recordings, noise, vocals). Together, they write and record music for solo, duo, trio, and larger ensemble performance. They invite collaborators on projects locally, nationally, and internationally.

kgmr started writing and recording music in elementary school using a Casio keyboard, a Magnus organ, and a tape recorder. Her first compositions were imagined as soundtracks for horror films. Early sampling projects using prank phone calls and the tape recorder were unfortunately stopped by the police. Her music has been used in films, theater, and radio. She appears elsewhere as a guest keyboardist.

Bobby Read loves playing heavy guitar and making noise on a variety of instruments.

kgmr.com

kgmr on Spotify

kgmr on Instagram

warm canopy

Former Brooklynite turned Portlander, Freddi Wyss (they/them) is a time-based artist who uses a variety of media to examine the spaces of communication development and breakdown. As a gap artist, they utilize experimental music, performance, and hybrid poetry to explore depths of emotional processing, highlighting the spaces in between moments, words, and melodies.

Freddi currently works under the moniker warm canopy and collaborates with a wide variety of movers and performers. Recent projects include: live soundscapes and score development for the embodied movement collective Tiny Vessels for the New Expressive Works Residency, 17th Cohort, resident at the Campbient 44-hour Sound Art Residency, mover in Jared Maurice Dancler’s work “Poppy People: Act II – Down River” at Shaking The Tree Theater, and will be composing a new piece entitled “The Plateau” for Friends After Good Sound’s winter 2025 performance. Additionally, they play in several Portland based bands including Fog Cutter and Karen Caskets.

Creative Music Guild’s Improvisation Summit of Portland Night 13 -Skerik, Lori Goldston w/ Pacific Lumber and Wire

Skerik