OCEANS AND
Tim Berne’s work is characterized by
tireless artistic dedication and creativity. His newly
formed trio with accordionist
and multi-instrumentalist Aurora
Nealand and cellist Hank
Roberts takes the listener on a
sonically adventurous jour-
ney on Oceans And and delights with
much imagination and
amazing musical diversity. The
pieces are penned by Tim
Berne and all open doors to infinite
interpretation and de-
velopment. “The breathtaking music,
created by Tim Berne,
Aurora Nealand, and Hank Roberts
can be deservedly and
on all accounts deemed: profound,
probing, intriguing, dis-
tinct, intricate, raw, courageous,
mysterious, and thoughtful.
The group’s concerted effort to
achieve a cohesive blend is a
refreshing relief. An honest crusade
of in-depth imagination,
this music is a beacon of light in an
unsettling world,” writes
Baikida Carroll in the liner notes and
adds: “It stimulates the
brain, animates the imagination, and
charms the heart.”
TIM BERNE is a composer, saxophonist, band-leader and
educator specializing in jazz and improvised music. A tour de
force on this scene, he has been performing internationally since
1982 with various ensembles including, most recently, Snakeoil
and Sun Of Goldfinger. He has made over 50 recordings as a
leader for labels such as Soul Note,Sony,JMT, ECM and Intakt,
while simultaneously running his own independent label
Screwgun Records. He has taught extensively since the late 90s
and given workshops around the world and is the recipient of
many international awards and residencies.
AURORA NEALAND is a sound artist and multi-instrumentalist
(saxophones, accordion, voice) Since moving to New Orleans in
2004 she has become a prominent force in both the traditional
and non-traditional music scene working in bands such as The
Royal Roses, The Monocle Ensemble, Redrawblak Trio, and the
Instigation Orchestra. She is equally at home on the stages of
concert halls and festivals around the world, playing music in the
streets and clubs of New Orleans, or touring in crammed vans to
squat houses. She is also an educator, and has been awarded
several residencies across the US.
Over his nearly four-decade career, HANK ROBERTS has forged
a compelling original voice as a cellist and composer,
encompassing jazz influences, abstract improvisation, soulful folk
melodies, intricate new-music compositions and vigorous rock
songs. Initially making his name on New York’s downtown scene
in the 80s alongside such frequent collaborators as Bill Frisell,
Tim Berne, Marc Ribot and John Zorn, he is now considered a
major innovator as a cellist, and band-leader and recording artist
in his own right. Currently he is a member of Bill Frisell’s
Harmony group and performs regularly with his own sextet.
Lie Very Still
(John C. Savage-flutes & saxophones, Mike Gamble-guitar, Shao Way Wu-bass, Ken Ollis-drums)
The Portland-based flutist and saxophonist, John C. Savage, has corralled some of Portland’s most adventurous improvisers and created Lie Very Still. Featuring Mike Gamble on guitar, Shao Way Wu on bass, and Ken Ollis on the drums, the quartet masterfully blends jazz, avant-garde, and world music sounds. Their new album, Nova Pangaea, is a stunning testament to both the beauty of our planet and the gravity of the climate crisis. Evoking the chaos and tumult of a worsening disaster with a vibe that is as much Ornette Coleman as it is John Zorn, Nova Pangaea, manages to convey the interconnectedness of our global community and the urgent need for collective action.
https://pjce.bandcamp.com/album/nova-pangaea
https://www.facebook.com/lieverystill/
http://www.johncsavage.com/
“…Savage is a badass, knock-down-drag-out force to be reckoned with….” —Willamette Week
“John Savage’s flute, which emulates Japanese shakuhachi, suggests shadows and mists.”—The Washington Post
“From the harsh sound of Ian Anderson to the beautiful tone of Herbie Mann….” —The Oregonian
“Savage’s yearning flute sound, with the band closing around him like shadows in moonlight, is exquisite on [Andrew Hill’s] Faded Beauty.” —The Guardian
“Jan Garbarek-esque saxophone.” —The Jazz Scene (Jazz Society of Oregon)
mononymously named, maximiliano, is an experimental artist exploring the intersection of spirituality & technology through the lens of Black Nihilist Futurism.
maximiliano.info
ig: @thulsa_moon
otolithia
An experimental, ambient, and improvisational duo featuring Tatiana Muzica and Josh Faber-Hammond. Their music is a unique combination of Japanese koto, multiple flutes, ethereal vocals, and electronics. The name is a fusion of the words ‘otolith’, referring to a calcium carbonate structure in the inner ear of vertebrates used to maintain equilibrium, and ‘lithia’, or lithium-containing water, which has been shown to reduce depression and stabilize moods for those who drink it regularly.
otolithia.bandcamp.com
meroitic is a sound & movement based project of black interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary artist & composer jamondria harris. Their work uses words, sounds, wires, theremin, synthesizers,instruments, textiles & what falls into their hands to engage with blackness, desire, spirit/source,narratology/folklore, & ontologies of liberation & embodiment.Their sound art emerges from deep-listening fluidity between rhythm & source, engendering sonic cartographies woven from samples, feedback, the electromagnetic field of bodies & rooms and both digital and analog synthesizer soundscapes.Their albums are available on Fallen Moon Recordings.
TWANS
Welded from the fruits of their own labors, TWANS set out to dispel current myths, question ideologies and sardonically allude to artistic nuances one would commonly dismiss. Between the three entities that are Mike Lockwood (drums), Andrew Jones (bass), and Mike Gamble (gtr) there exists an unyielding desire to connect in another dimension and utilize that interplay to heighten the worth of their songs.
https://twansmusic.bandcamp.com/
James Powers Quintet
Convention is something to be learned from, but not restrained by. This ethos comes across in the music of Portland based trombonist, guitarist, and composer James Powers. Largely self taught, and always in search of new methods of communication, James, a third generation musician, has been interested in non-literal expression since his first concert at 8 days old. As such, he jumps at new experiences; a practice which has seen him making a home in styles of music as varied as classical, ska, funk, and free improvisation, and performing with acts as renowned and diverse as Aceyalone, Blue Cranes, Jello Biafra, Chuck Isreals, Gordon Lee, Christopher Worth, and PJCE. More regularly, he can be heard leading his sludge jazz trio JP-3, rock trio REACTOR, and as a member of March Fourth, Buddy Jay’s Jamaican Jazz Band, and The Frank Irwin Quintet.
On this outing James’ trombone will be joined by the boisterous, sympathetic and adventurous playing of saxophonist Wyck Malloy, keyboardist Akila Fields, Bassist Liam Hathaway, and Drummer Rivkah Ross.
Negative Concord is Portland’s emergent electronic and ambient jazz duo. With Richard Moore playing the ondes martenot and Patrick McCulley on saxophone, Negative Concord seeks to measure opposing temporal and linguistic realities with sonic frameworks, flexible timbres, and nebulous rhythms.
https://www.instagram.com/negativeconcordband/
Adri Trio
The Adri Trio combines Jazz driven compositions and new age electric sounds. This project tends to stray towards the free side of sound and improvisation with a dedication to the melodic story-telling each piece has to offer.
Jenna Leigh, 28, originally from New Bedford, MA, and have lived in PDX for 9 years.
I own a bakery in PDX and love love love music! I’ve been singing since I was a child, I started teaching myself guitar when I was 13, and started picking up other instruments as time went on. My whole life I’ve been exposed to music by family and extended family, every family gathering we were singing tunes and playing piano & guitar together.
Just a couple years ago I started really focusing on playing, writing, and recording my own music…teaching myself basic drums, piano, and bass. Im currently learning music theory, which is exciting as I’ve always just played by ear mostly. I’m currently playing keys in !mindparade, finishing an LP of my own songs, and really enjoying playing music with others and exploring that creative part of myself!
Machado Mijiga
Classically-trained, jazz-weathered, and eclectically inclined, multi-instrumentalist 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.
A Portland native, Mijiga is a musical polymath; composer, producer, bandleader, educator, gear fanatic, and audio engineer, to name a few.
Mijiga studied classical and jazz saxophones at University of Puget Sound from 2012-13 and Washington State University from 2013-2017, with elective studies in Percussion at UPS in 2012 and, ensemble experience at Whitman College from 2008-2012.
Mijiga has shared the stage and/or collaborated with the likes of Benny Golson, Terence Blanchard, Brian McKnight, Charlie Hunter, Mark Giuliana, Bill Watrous, Tamir Hendelman, John Clayton, Eddie Palmieri, Fareed Haque, Darrell Grant, George Colligan, Damian Erskine, Thomas Marriott, Joe Kye
Ora Cogan, PDX All Stars, and many more.
Festival highlights include (but not limited to): Pickathon, PDX Jazz Festival, Vanport Jazz Festival, Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival, San Jose Jazz Festival, PaseoFest, Montavilla Jazz Festival, Taco Tapes Festival, Ghost Carrot Festival
Mijiga currently tours with GRAMMY winning band Portugal.The Man playing saxophone, drums, keyboards, and electronics, and has played world-famous festivals and venues, such as Red Rocks, Radio City Music Hall, Hollywood Bowl, Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, Wonderbus, Edgefield, Triple Door, Metro, The Atlantis, Whalebone, Sherblues, and Racket NYC, as well as done virtual performances for KEXP and Taco Bell.
Mijiga serves as Artist-in-Residence at (Portland’s) Roosevelt High School, along with being a guest lecturer and workshop collaborator for Portland State University.
As a composer, Mijiga recently won the Portland Jazz “Composers Cook-Off” in 2020 and became one of Third Coast Percussion’s “Creative Currents” Partners in 2021.
As a producer and audio engineer, Mijiga currently has 12 records, 14 EPs, and 16 singles released under his name, with all but two of these releases self-produced.
Mijiga has also served as a freelance producer and engineer for artists such as Rob Araujo, Darrell Grant, and more.
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.
Cam Haskins
My name is Cam I’m from Chicago/ Southern Illinois and I’m a multi-percussionist / music producer. Currently attending PSU in the Sonic Arts program. My favorite thing in the world todo is listen intently to the black musical masters and creators that came before now and ones in the modern day like Jdilla, Herbie Hancock, 9th Wonder, Miles Davis, Mad-lib and so many more and connect their work to the overall African ancestral diaspora and to then draw inspiration from that. Whether when that’s I’m producing a new beat or when I’m performing live I try to channel that energy and be in the moment.
Pablo Riverola
As a composer and as a trumpet player, Pablo commands a resonant, warm, encompassing sound that reaches beyond the aesthetic of jazz while still remaining deeply rooted in the tradition. He is an artist by its truest definition and music is his medium. To him, the listener’s emotional experience is the highest priority as he carefully curates each piece inviting the listener to feel, and to feel intensely. Through his work, he demonstrates an unwavering commitment to that artistic vision. From the first note he plays you are captivated by his warm, voice-like sound that takes the listener on a journey while still being reminiscent of his heroes, Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard and Clifford Brown.
Bitter Camari
black trans enby rapper from the USA; based out of PDX. shoegazy, sometimes ambient trap/drill-esque vibes. cloud rap energy. been working since ~2014.
I was raised in NYC and absorbed New England and Caribbean culture from my parents; recently, this has turned my ear towards UK drill, Afrobeats, and music from all over the diaspora.
I’m a major fan of dub, ambient, sleep, tea, being alone, and spending time in-person with my close ones.
I was around when cloud rap was coming into prominence with Lil B, Xaiver Wulf, and Yung Lean; I fell in love with the sound and its been a major influence on my approach to music and writing since. I love writing. much of my focus falls there when making work.
graphic design, videography, producing, songwriting, and journaling are some of my passions. i’m a lover of anticolonial literature and work.
feel free to contact me at bittercamari@gmail.com or on instagram at @bittercamari
<3
Roman Norfleet
Roman Norfleet (1988 n. American born) is an interdisciplinary cultural producer, healer and mystic that uses sculpture, music composition, performance and social organizing as instruments in exploring his committed interest in spiritual and social development.
Originally hailing from Lockport, Illinois, Roman’s formative years were spent immersed in the vernacular traditions of the Baptist Church where his parents Mose Ella and Rev. Robert Norfleet attended and provided Roman the foundation to seek spiritual enlightenment on his own. His development journey led him to Los Angeles where he lived in an Gaudiya Vaishnava Ashram and studied Hindu/ Vedic Philosophies of Swamini Turiyasangitanada (Alice Coltrane) with her students. These years of deep immersion into his spiritual practices greatly influenced the way Norfleet approaches music and provided expansive insight into the sacred power of sound.
Norfleet has been surrounded by and involved in music and the arts since a child in his hometown, but has been further artistically cultivated by the visual art and music scenes of Chicago, IL, Los Angeles, CA, the DMV area and Portland, OR.
As Founder and creative director of “Be Present Art Group” Norfleet believes deeply in the power perception and persistence has on elevating one’s consciousness. He is currently devising a curriculum workbook that translates these teachings into practical applications and preparing to release an album with BPAG as bandleader.
From devotional recordings, to an instrumental beat tape, to an experimental album, he has released a range of expressive projects that address his ever evolving approaches to honoring the divinity of creation. Roman seeks to continue that artistic, expressive expansion by continuing to incorporate visual and performance art elements that challenges the status quo, encourages spiritual expansion and calls for audiences to be present in the now moment.
(Bio edited by Viktor Le Givens)
James Powers
Convention is something to be learned from, but not restrained by. This ethos comes across in the music of Portland based trombonist, guitarist, and composer James Powers. Largely self taught, and always in search of new methods of communication, James, a third generation musician, has been interested in non-literal expression since his first concert at 8 days old. As such, he jumps at new experiences; a practice which has seen him making a home in styles of music as varied as classical, ska, funk, and free improvisation, and performing with acts as renowned and diverse as Aceyalone, Blue Cranes, Jello Biafra, Chuck Isreals, Gordon Lee, Christopher Worth, and PJCE. More regularly, he can be heard leading his sludge jazz trio JP-3, rock trio REACTOR, and as a member of March Fourth, Buddy Jay’s Jamaican Jazz Band, and The Frank Irwin Quintet.
Dae Bryant
I’m an artist and love this music, and form of being. I’m from Harlem, NYC and have been playing music all my life, whether it was in the church, where I realized the true power of music as a medium of energy and love . The non attachment to an idea of one state of being but all states of art and existence. Love, transcendence , being. Grateful.
The collective résumés of guitarist Mike Gamble, bassist Andrew Jones, and drummer Matt Mayhall — the three Portland, Oregon artists that make up the new ensemble the Sound Creation Trio — read like an expertly curated playlist of the past six decades of adventurous music: Charlie Haden, Aimee Mann, Shahzad Ismaily, Jeff Parker, Laura Veirs, Earth, Julia Holter. In and around their sideman work, these men have been responsible for some daring original music of their own that stretches from free jazz to post-rock to Americana to art pop and back again. Nothing is off limits to these hyper-talented instrumentalists whether in the studio or on stage. That’s what makes their new collaboration such an exciting prospect. The name is deceptively understated. Don’t all musicians simply create sound? True, but few are willing to combine genres and sonic elements as freely and spiritedly as this trio. Their shared language is exploration and a desire to push their abilities as composers and players to their absolute limits. The members of the Sound Creation Trio may have decades of experience and knowledge at their disposal, but they are still students of their chosen craft. As they continue to expand and create fresh sound, they refuse to be defined by ill-fitting genre tags or easy branding. In an age of social media-driven nonsense and cheap YouTube covers, their combined efforts are increasingly rare and always electrifying.
CMG is proud to have Discordance wrap up this years 2023 Improv Summit! This will also mark Caspar Sonnet’s last run hosting the series, passing the torch on to the next curator. This performance will feature amazing local noise artists: CBSM (Cody Bra nt/Shane Mcdonell), Valarie 23, Slava Tannic and Moon Bladder! A show not to miss! Show at 8pm, $10 admission.
The Reed Showcase will be an evening of music performed by students of Reed College. There will be sets by both bands and soloists playing whatever kind of music they’d most like to perform, and the tastes are diverse—there will be rock, indie, folk, and punk, to name a few. Reed’s music scene has experienced a bit of a downturn since the pandemic, but these students show that the scene is making a comeback. Come for an evening of great music and support these student bands!
Esmé
Esmé is a musician and writer with an interest in the social application of creative work. They are a senior studying English and creative writing at Reed College. Their musical style draws on rock, jazz, folk and country. One day they hope to write their own songs. For now, they play the work of artists across genres—favorites include Stevie Nicks, Amy Winehouse, Lucinda Williams, and Janis Joplin.
Glass Eyed Tiger
About: we’re stuck in the era of guitar music and regularly cover 90’s rock favorites. But we’re also writing originals that blend indie idiosyncrasy and punk spontaneity. Drawing as much on Guided by Voices as on Neil Young, we aim to do something new with something that can’t get old.
Motorway South
Emerging out of a tiny grimy basement in Portland, Oregon, Motorway South is guitarist and singer Rachel Vogel and drummer Cleo Berryman. Drawing influence from giants such as Modest Mouse, Wilco, and Elliot Smith, their upcoming EP “Bottle Eve” is a sentimental collection of indie songs that are grainy, confessional, frustrated, recursive, hopelessly suburban, intimate in spite of/because of their equivocation, exact, disappointed,, half-remembered, and completely doomed (but in all the best ways).
Contemporary Music Industry Showcase
Join us for an incredible array of up and coming talent from Oregon State University Contemporary Music, Music Production, Jazz programs, and more. Featuring student led projects and original works! Guest faculty, too!
Original music from a variety of styles of music making. Everything from pop-punk, bossa nova, blues, singer-songwriter, jam band and live electronics and visuals.
Todd Sickafoose’s BEAR PROOF
Jenny Scheinman / violin
Adam Levy / guitar
Carmen Staaf / piano
Ben Goldberg / clarinet
Kirk Knuffke / cornet
Rob Reich / accordion
Allison Miller / drums
Todd Sickafoose / acoustic bass, composer
West Coast native Todd Sickafoose is a musical visionary. JazzTimes calls him “thoroughly
original” and “endlessly creative,” and the San Francisco Chronicle calls him “a captivating
improviser, imaginative composer, and master of collaboration.” He’s worked with an array of
amazing performers – the New Yorker has
referred to him as “Ani DiFranco’s secret weapon” and he is the Tony and GRAMMY award-winning orchestrator and music producer of Anais
Mitchell’s current Broadway hit “Hadestown”.
Tonight’s concert will be a rare performance of BEAR PROOF, an hour-long piece commissioned by Chamber Music America. Todd describes the music, which he composed specifically for this octet, as “a surreal meditation on BOOM and BUST.” Members of the all-star ensemble have played with a range of musical innovators, from Bill Frisell to Norah Jones, Dee Dee Bridgewater to Dr. Lonnie Smith, Tin Hat to Andrew Bird.
Keeping a band together, particularly among the mercurial community of jazz musicians, is no small feat. Other gigs beckon. Life outside of making art takes precedence. It’s a reality that makes the continued existence and progression of Portland quintet Blue Cranes feel so momentous. The ensemble — saxophonists Reed Wallsmith and Joe Cunningham, drummer Ji Tanzer, keyboardist Rebecca Sanborn, and bassist Jon Shaw — has been working together in a variety of formats since 2004, creating a solid body of work that has connected them to both the traditional sounds and the future-minded artists of their chosen genre.
What has kept them together, even as Cunningham has lived outside of Portland for the past few years, is strong personal and creative bonds. As a collective, their remit has always been to continually push their art further and further outside their comfort zones and to the edges of their abilities. It’s what fueled the group’s last album, 2021’s Voices, which found Blue Cranes recording for the first time with an assortment of vocalists (Laura Gibson, Edna Vazquez, Holland Andrews, Peter Broderick, Laura Veirs). And that desire to stretch even further beyond their previous work is at the heart of their new album My Only Secret. “I felt like I was getting in a rut, harmonically,” Wallsmith says. “I was trying to get out of that. To bring in more complexity and not do the same thing again.”
To that end, Wallsmith brought elements of twelve-tone and through-composition into his writing. “Semicircle” has an ever changing tonal center, while “Forward” keeps shifting and evolving in the manner of cloud formations being pushed along the sky. Cunningham, meanwhile, took on a nonlinear form of songwriting. “Gaviota” evokes the minimalist work of John Adams with its intertwining melodies and an extended coda that brings in some rattling percussion, the flute playing of John C. Savage, and the trombone of James Powers.
Another major shift for the band was to change the way they recorded My Only Secret. Created during the height of the quarantine, Blue Cranes altered their usual way of recording out of necessity, tracking each part separately and in duets across the studio window in Wallsmith’s basement. With some help from longtime cohorts Jason Powers and Todd Sickafoose, Wallsmith built the songs up using the individual components, usually adding Tanzer last in the process, because, he notes, “Ji is such an expressive player and is so in the moment, reacting to what’s happening. I felt like we’d lose all that otherwise.” Even with this temporal separation, says Cunningham, “it was like we were responding to each other. There was communication happening in the same space but at different times. And somehow it sounds like we’re playing live in the same room.”
What will always stay the same with Blue Cranes no matter how much they change as people, as players and as composers is the vibrant emotional core within the music they create. Each song on My Only Secret has a core memory attached to it, whether it is the birth of a child (“Sloan”), a parent’s comfort after the death of a beloved pet (“Rhododendron”), or the agony of the 2016 election results (“Forward”). They feel every moment of every song deeply, something which colors every note they play. “We’re a good emotional band,” says Cunningham. “We can go to that place.” The beauty of My Only Secret, like all of the work Blue Cranes has produced to date, is that they want anyone and everyone to join them.
Harlan believes in the power of music to comfort our minds and relax our bodies. As a cellist and multi-instrumentalist, his musical talents span across genres from classical music for meditation and wellness to hip hop. His diverse list of songwriting and producing credits range from Michelle Branch to The Late Show’s John Baptiste and the hip hop artist, Duckwrth. As a solo artist, Harlan has released four instrumental albums that have been wildly featured on playlists for mediation and wellness.
As a film and television composer, Harlan brings together all elements of his musical background. He has worked such talents as Lakeith Stanfield and had his music featured on such hit series HBO’S INSECURE and Hulu’s WOKE.
Harlan’s musical training began at the age of four, when he began playing the cello after seeing Yo-Yo Ma perform on television. Harlan went on to study with renown cellist Eugene Friesen at Berklee School of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.
