Shahzad Ismaily w/ Ayako Kataoka & John Niekrasz,
Max Kutner,
Jamondria Harris,
Crystal Cortez,
Briggan Kraus,
V. Vecker
& Annual Improvised Round Robin Duets

Shahzad Ismaily (NY) with Ayako Kataoka, John Niekrasz

Shahzad Ismaily was born to Pakistani immigrant parents and grew up in a wholly bicultural household. While he holds a masters degree in biochemistry from Arizona State University, he is a largely self-taught composer and musician, having mastered the electric and double bass, guitar, banjo, accordion, flute, drums, various percussion instruments and various analog synthesizers and drum machines. Ismaily has recorded or performed with an incredibly diverse assemblage of musicians, including Laurie Anderson and Lou Reed, Tom Waits, Jolie Holland, Laura Veirs, Bonnie Prince Billy, Faun Fables, Secret Chiefs 3, John Zorn, Elysian Fields, Shelley Hirsch, Niobe, Will Oldham, Nels Cline, Mike Doughty (of Soul Coughing), Graham Haynes, David Krakauer, Billy Martin (of Medeski Martin and Wood), Carla Kihlstedt’s Two Foot Yard, the Tin Hat Trio, Raz Mesinai and Burnt Sugar. He has also composed regularly for dance and theater, including for Min Tanaka, the Frankfurt Ballet and the East River Commedia. Recently he composed the score for the critically acclaimed movie Frozen River, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. He was also an Artist in Residence at the Headlands Center for the Arts in San Francisco, CA in 2008. Currently based in New York , Ismaily has studied music extensively in Pakistan, India, Turkey, Mexico, Santiago, Japan, Indonesia, Morocco and Iceland.
https://pirecordings.com/artists/shahzad-ismaily/

Briggan Krauss
Saxophonist Briggan Krauss has been an internationally recognized key player in New York City’s downtown and creative music scene for more than twenty years. He connects the extreme edges of technique with the unexplored tonal possibilities of the instrument while making his work as much about shape as it is about his unique signature sound.
He has released several critically acclaimed recordings as a leader and has appeared on over fifty other recordings as a sideman. He has worked with a diverse range of artists including John Zorn, Bill Frisell, Steven Bernstein, Wayne Horvitz, Levon Helm, Skerik, Eyvind Kang, Robin Holcomb, Norah Jones, Medeski Martin and Wood, Hal Willner, Skuli Sverrisson, Jim Black, Ikue Mori, Joey Baron, Kato Hideki, Satoko Fuji, Dave Harrington, The New York Composer’s Orchestra, Elysian Fields, Iron & Wine, Rufus Wainwright, Sarah Manning, Trey Anastasio, Joan Wasser, Jessie Harris, Beth Fleenor, Lou Reed, Marc Ribot, Antony, and U2.
Briggan’s voice has been a part of Steven Bernstein’s iconic quartet Sexmob from its inception twenty years ago. Sexmob earned a Grammy Award nomination for their 2006 recording titled Sexotica and Briggan also recorded with guitarist Bill Frisell on his Grammy Award winning 2007 album Unspeakable.
In addition to his work as a saxophonist and composer, Briggan plays guitar in several projects including his String and Reed Quartet. He also works in the areas of sound art, electronic music and interdisciplinary performance. He is currently a professor in the Performance and Interactive Media Arts [PIMA] and Sonic Arts MFA programs at Brooklyn College.

Max Kutner
Max Kutner is a guitarist, composer and instructor originally from Las Vegas, NV. As an instrumentalist, Max’s focus is on new works for the electric guitar as well the promotion of electric guitar in new performance contexts. In addition to his numerous projects as a leader, he has worked alongside Mike Keneally, Sofia Gubaidulina, Ulrich Krieger, the former members of Oingo Boingo, The Grandmothers of Invention (Zappa alumni), Alphonso Johnson, Lili Haydn, Matt Darriau and many others. Presently, Max is also the lead guitarist of the Magic Band with John “Drumbo” French which performs the music of Captain Beefheart around the world and he has previously taught guitar at California Institute of the Arts.
http://maxkutner.com

Keith Wecker@
V.Vecker is the pseudonym for Keith Wecker, a composer and multi-instrumentalist based out of Vancouver, BC, Canada.
His solo compositions revolve around looped sax and synth while the Ensemble takes on a more compositional direction with the added instrumentation provided from the other musicians.
https://vveckermusic.bandcamp.com/album/coiling-flat

Jamondria Marnice Harris
Jamondria Harris is an interdisciplinary artist living in Portland, OR. They use words, sounds, wires, instruments, textiles & what falls into their hands to engage with blackness, desire, sprit/source, decolonization, fairy tales, & body horror. Their book of poetry and art, quaerere, is available from Magic Helicopter Press and their music can be found at meroitic.bandcamp.com.

Crystal Cortez
C R Y S T A L C O R T E Z is a composer and multimedia artist based in Portland, Oregon. Her sonic work is focused around the use of field recordings, sounds produced and electronically processed live from objects, and multi-channel sound spatialization. Her practice has recently involved the development of interactive sculptural interfaces and wearable technology that use movement and other corporeal methods to drive audio and visuals. Crystal blends sound, tech and performance art to produce ceremonial happenings. Her work has been shown at PNCA, PICA, Navel (LA) and more.
https://www.crystalcortez.com/

Improvised Round Robin Duets
Now in it’s fifth year, the Improvised Round Robin Duets have become a highly anticipated event at the Creative Music Guild’s Improvisation Summit of Portland. The Round Robin brings together performers from an array of musical backgrounds for a one-time meeting based on the roll of a die. The hour long event consists of a series of improvised, overlapping 5 minute duets featuring ten musicians with big ears and hearts who have often never met each other. Past performances have included chance meetings between Dave Depper (Death Cab For Cutie) on guitar/electronics and vocalist Lamiae Naki (Seffarine); Sage Fisher (Dolphin Midwives) on harp/electronics and vocalist Laura Gibson; Matt Carlson (Golden Retriever) on analog synth and the late Andre St. James on bass; Edna Vazquez on vocals and Doug Theriault on electronics; Peter Broderick on vocals/viola and John Gross on tenor sax, and many more

2019 Round Robin Performers:

Patrick McCulley
Kelly Pratt
Briggan Krauss
Keith Wecker
Michael Timothy Lockwood
Alex Callenberger
Dana Reason
Shahzad Ismaily
Jamondria Marnice Harris
Michelle Alany
Charlie Brown III
Sam Potter

Wednesday, 10/16
Turn Turn Turn
$10-20 (sliding), 8:30-10:30pm

Visiting artists PAK (NY) and Shahzad Ismaily (NY) join local Zvi

PAK

PAK based in New York its current lineup containing members of The Molecules, Cleric, Imperial Triumphant, and more. The band is touring the West Coast to promote their new release Bestial on Nefarious Industries.

“For more than fifteen years of touring and recording, PAK has released six recordings on labels including Ra Sounds, Magaibutsu Japan, Tzadik, and others. Combining powerful avant metal, the complexity of prog rock, and inspired moments of improvisation, PAK’s music stands unique. Founder Ron Anderson is back on guitar with a more powerful heavier sound, while new recruits, bassist Steve Blanco (Imperial Triumphant) and drummer Larry Kwartowitz (Cleric) are helping in stretching the band’s previous boundaries, pushing PAK to new sonic directions.” https://ronanderson.bandcamp.com/album/bestial

Ron Anderson was born in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1959 has been experimenting with new concepts for utilizing rock music with noise, free improvisation since the mid-70’s. In 1980 he was one of the founding members of Rat At Rat R in Philadelphia. He moved to New York City’s Lower East Side in 1982. There he started working in his home recording studio and continued to experiment with tape editing, found sounds, noise and improvisation. He combined these elements with compositions and released his first LP entitled Fever Dream in 1987. Ron moved to Oakland, CA in 1989 were he formed The Molecules. They released a total of six albums. The Molecules were invited to perform at the Musique Action Festival in Nancy, France in 1993, since then Ron has been a regular on the European festival and club circuit, as well as touring in Japan and North America. After living in Geneva, Switzerland for one year he moved back to New York City in 1999 where he formed PAK. He has collaborated with many musicians on numerous projects. He appears on over 70 releases, most recently Oblique Quartet Tlaloc Beat on Alphatauri – Mexico City, Mexico. 

Steve Blanco is a multi-instrumentalist (mainly bass & piano/keys), composer, and filmmaker based in NYC. He is well versed in many styles of music ranging from Jazz to Metal to Ambient, etc. Performing, recording, and touring are a regular part of his creative existence, and he is involved in several projects as leader or sideman. Blanco’s resume also includes composition & film scoring, as well as music instruction. Blanco is the bass player for Imperial Triumphant, PAK, ZRIKU. 

ZVI
ZVI is the eclectic solo project of NYC-based multi-instrumentalist Ron Varod, known for his roles in Kayo Dot, Sabbath Assembly, Psalm Zero, So Is The Tongue,

Tuesday, 10/15
No Fun
$7, 8:30pm-late

Some of the louder and wilder sounds of the CMG community featuring:
Halfbird, Galaxy Research, Social Stomach, Winnie Black, Starship Infinity

Winnie Black
Winnie Black is a multimedia artist in Portland. Her live music performances are improvised manipulation of radio signals to create pulsing textures and melodies.
website – www.winnie.black

Starship Infinity
Eddie Bond is a multi-instrumentalist composer, performer, and teacher based in Portland, Oregon. Bond graduated from the University of Oregon Jazz Studies in 2013 and was named the Outstanding Undergraduate in Jazz in his class. Since moving to Portland, Bond has maintained a busy performance schedule both regionally and nationally across a wide range of style on guitar, bass, synthesizers, keyboards, vocals, and electronics. He has received commissions from the Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble, Yves St. Laurent, and the Mary Pickford Foundation and he maintains a studio of piano and guitar students through the Eliason School of Music in Portland. He was most recently at the Banff International Workshop for Jazz and Creative Music where he studied and performed with Tyshawn Sorey, Vijay Iyer, and many other amazing musicians.
https://starshipinfinity.org/

The Social Stomach
“Theres no better way to experience the pummeling live show of The Social Stomach then in the flesh. As cyborg-like TJ Thompson splits his body and mind between drums and electronics, vocalist Diana Oropeza conducts an exorcism of language, her torrent of words crashing into and arcing above the legible chaos summoned by her bandmate. It’s not noise. It’s not punk. It’s not poetry. It’s not rock ’n’ roll. It’s not dance music. It’s all of those things. It’s none of those things. It’s something else entirely. It’s the Social Stomach.” – Chris Stamm
https://thesocialstomach.bandcamp.com/

Halfbird
Halfbird is an improvising free-jazz/punk/freakout trio from Portland, OR comprised of Ben Kates (alto and baritone sax), Grant Pierce (drums), and Brandon Conway (guitar). Their music is a mix of maximalist squalls of chromaticism, layered tempos, and walls of noise all shaped together into intuitive forms via active listening and luck. The bandmates met while volunteering for the Creative Music Guild and have been playing together for the last five years. Halfbird has released multiple digital albums and has a tape out on SDM Records.
https://halfbird.bandcamp.com/
https://sdmpdx.bandcamp.com/album/halfbird-loomings-sdm-041

Galaxy Research (Dewey Mahood)
Galaxy Research is an instrumental prog/psych rock band formed 2016 by guitarist Dewey Mahood (Plankton Wat, Thrill Jockey Records) and drummer TJ Thompson (The Social Stomach, Multiverse Ensemble, etc). Bassist James Shaver (Abronia) joined the following year. This trio recorded a 5 song EP Kaldi, and has played many shows around the Pacific Northwest opening for Kinski, Moon Duo, Wooden Shjips, Mdou Moctar, Trad Gras och Stenar, and others. 2019 saw the addition of 2nd guitarist Mike Gamble, and percussionist Jason Morales. This current version of the band plans on recording a full length album in the near future.

https://galaxyresearch.bandcamp.com/releases

$7, 21+
Order of Sets:
Halfbird
Galaxy Research
Social Stomach
Winnie Black
Starship Infinity

6 nights at 6 different venues showcasing the many sides of the CMG and featuring visiting and local artists.

Tuesday, 10/15
No Fun
$7
8:30pm-late (21+)
Some wild and local sounds of the CMG community featuring:
Social Stomach, Winnie Black, Galaxy Research, Halfbird, and Starship Infinity

Wednesday, 10/16
Turn! Turn! Turn!
$10-20 (sliding)
8:30-10:30pm (all ages)
PAK (NY, Tzadik recording artists) 
Phobia Outfit (Pdx)
Zvi (Pdx)

Thursday, 10/17
Holocene
Confluence: the Visiting Artist Series
8pm
$15 (21+)
Darius Jones (NY, solo sax)
Embedded Star Ensemble (Pdx) with Shahzad Ismaily (NY)
Saloli (Pdx)

Friday, 10/18 — Early Show and Q&A
Beacon Sound
207 SE Grand Ave (new location!)
5-7pm
Free (donations gladly accepted)
Shahzad Ismaily Q&A with Bob Ham (Portland Mercury, XRAY FM) followed by a performance with Lisa Schonberg, Mike Gamble, Dana Reason, and Paris  Myers

Friday, 10/18
S1 Gallery
$15 ($10 for S1 members)
8pm
Synths, guitars and saxophones oh my!
Featuring:
Shahzad Ismaily (NY), Max Kutner (NY), Jamondria Harris (Pdx), Crystal Cortez (Pdx), Briggan Kraus (NY)
& the Annual Improvised Round Robin Duets!

Saturday, 10/19 —  Afternoon workshop
S1 Gallery
Shahzad Ismaily Workshop: “Merging Composition and Improvisation” 
1-3pm
$20 General ($10 for S1 Members)

Saturday Evening, 10/19
Leaven Community
Extradition Series Fall Concert
$10-20 (sliding)
Doors at 7, music at 7:30pm
Featuring works by Toshi Ichiyanagi,  Sarah Hughes, Matthias Kaul, Luke Nickel, and Daniel James Wolf 

Sunday, 10/20
The 1905
Jazz and free jazz all day long!!

• 11:30-1:30pm: Noah Simpson trio (free)
• 3-5pm: Dan Clucas/Ralph Thomas/Michael  Vlatkovich/Andrew Jones/Tim DuRoche ($5)
• 5-7pm: Rich Halley’s Outside Music Ensemble  ($10)
• 8-11pm: Hearts and Minds  (Chicago) ($15)

The Improvisation Summit of Portland 2019 is supported by the Fred W. Fields Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation.

Extradition’s 2019 season continues with a recital by Edmonton-based composer/performer Mark Hannesson of the Wandelweiser Composers Collective, performing five of his own works with guest musicians from the Extradition Series community.

> Child (2019): This piece, which is receiving its world premiere tonight, uses words and short phrases from the “United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child” to create a minimalist canticle, with an open instrumental ensemble supporting a vocalist. It will be performed by Jena Viemeister (voice), Mark Hannesson (trumpet), Matt Carlson (piano), Lee Elderton (clarinet), Branic Howard (guitar), Catherine Lee (oboe), and Collin Oldham (cello).

> Home.Haven.Refuge (2019): Our second world premiere for the evening is based around a UNHCR statistic showing that someone, somewhere in the world, is forcibly displaced every two seconds as a result of conflict or persecution. It will be performed by Mark Hannesson (trumpet), Catherine Lee (oboe), and Matt Hannafin (percussion).

> Like the Shuffling of Feet on Pavement (2017): A duo for pianist and clarinetist, each of which is given a small range of written material, which they must arrange over the course of the piece according to their own sense of pace and timing. The piece will be performed by Matt Carlson (piano) and Lee Elderton (clarinet).

> Small Garden (2015): Small Garden is a series of seven short, poetic text scores, each comprising just four to eighteen words. Tonight’s performance will assay five of them, each performed by a different group of instrumentalists that includes Mark Hannesson (trumpet), Matt Carlson (piano), Lee Elderton (clarinet), Matt Hannafin (percussion), Branic Howard (guitar), Catherine Lee (oboe), and Collin Oldham (cello).

> Undeclared (2016): On October 20, 2006, a drone attack in Pakistan’s Bajaur District struck a school, killing 68 children aged 7 to 17. The score for this piece consists entirely of those children’s names and ages, along with the simple instructions “play one note/sound for each child / take as much time as needed / pause between each as long as needed.” It will be performed solo by Mark Hannesson (whistling + computer processing).

NOTE: This recital will take place at Resound NW, not at Extradition’s regular concert venue.

Saturday, September 21
Resound NW
1532 SW Jefferson St, PDX
Doors 7pm, music 7:30pm

Refreshments will be served during intermission.

The Extradition Series presents concerts and recitals that exist at the intersection of composition and improvisation, intentionality and chance, clarity and silence. The series is curated and directed by Matt Hannafin and presented by the Creative Music Guild.

www.extradition-series.com
www.facebook.com/TheExtraditionSeries
www.youtube.com/c/TheExtraditionSeries
www.creativemusicguild.org

https://www.facebook.com/events/1101444983576934/

The Extradition Series 2019 Summer Concert will take place on Saturday, July 27, 2019, featuring five intimate works of experimental music.

> Eva-Maria Houben, “The Crickets of Raspberry Island” (2014), performed by Lee Elderton (clarinet), Matt Hannafin (sustaining sound), Branic Howard (sustaining sound)

> Angharad Davies, “Cofnod Pen Bore” (2012), performed by Annie Gilbert (voice), Matt Hannafin (stones), Branic Howard (electronics), Margaret McNeal (voice), and Stephanie Lavon Trotter (voice)

> Lo Wie, “Score for 3 Performers” (2015), performed by Alissa DeRubeis (electronics), Juniana Lanning (electronics), Caspar Sonnet (dobro)

> Alvin Lucier, “The Sacred Fox” (1994), performed by Matt Hannafin (voice + resonant vessels)

> Brian Moran & Linda Austin, “15 Minutes @ PS122/PWNW” (2005/2019), performed by Linda Austin (dance)

The performance by Linda Austin will be a recreation of a 2005 performance by New York dancer and electronics player Brian Moran, utilizing Moran’s original accompanying audio track merged with new audio by Austin.

Saturday, July 27, 2019
Performance Works NW
4625 SE 67th Ave, PDX
Doors 7pm, music 7:30pm
Tickets at door, $10–$20

Refreshments will be served during intermission.

The Extradition Series presents concerts and recitals that exist at the intersection of composition and improvisation, chance and intentionality, clarity and silence. The series is curated and directed by Matt Hannafin and presented by the Creative Music Guild.

www.extradition-series.com
www.facebook.com/TheExtraditionSeries
www.youtube.com/c/TheExtraditionSeries
www.creativemusicguild.org

Join us for a night of improvisations with trios curated by Mike Gamble of The Creative Music Guild. This is the fifth installment of the Synth Library Improv night.

Brandon Conway
Michelle Alany
Ryan Stuewe
Visuals: Matthew Rempes

Luke Wyland
Crystal Cortez
Tim DuRoche
Visuals: Nathaniel Kornet

Setareh
Noah Simpson
Amenta Abioto
Visuals: Arjan Miranda

7.19.19
8pm – 11pm
$10 – General
$5 – S1 Members
Tickets at the door