The Creative Music Guild, Portland, OR (2026)

10/13/2026

Improvisation Summit of Portland- Night 13

Christian San Nicholas w/ Anthony Martinez and Rudy Lopez + Student Jam Session

October 25th, 2026 — 7pm

FREE, sliding scale

13th Moon Brewery
4513 SE 41st Ave, Portland, OR 97206

Locally acclaimed artist, Christian San Nicolas, roots their sonic exploration of the saxophone in their CHamoru lineage. Having studied the lineage of American-westernized music at a collegiate level(both classical and jazz), Christian pulls from a philosophical approach derived from free jazz pioneers – to derive a sense of autonomy of self through sound, free of socially inhibiting structures; the colonizer. Their demonstration of the sonic is responsive to their environment – each performance is a unique stamp in time, reflective of the mental, emotional and physical state of their complex human experience.

Joining Christian is bassist Rudy Lopez, and drummer Anthony Martinez
Afterwards the trio will host a student jam until 10pm

Christian feels a sense of duty to represent the CHamoru people’s voice in the states. Through the medium of music and sound, Christian performs sonic excerpts that are reflective of the beauty of Guahan’s land, history, stories and language, while offering narratives around the ongoing atrocities felt by victims of state-sanctioned violence to the indigenous peoples of the Pasifika. Christian roots their craft in “demonstrating truth”, choosing to sit on and perform with a racing heart, over a racing mind.

Christian is closely associated with the following musical groups:
CMLGSN (Portland, OR)
Roman Norfleet & Be Present Art Group (Portland, OR)
Patrick Palomo & The Tradewinds (Guahan)
Colectivo Cenizas (Portland, OR)

10/11/2026

CMG ISP Night #12

One of CMG’s favorite annual traditions, the Round Robin places musicians in constantly changing duos for an evening of spontaneous collaboration, deep listening, and creative surprises.

October 24, 2026 • 7pm
Desert Island Studios
1316 SE 12th Ave, Portland, OR
$10-30 suggested donation (sliding scale)

Featuring:

Ben Woodman (guitar and host) – Portland guitarist, trumpeter, and composer whose music spans jazz, acoustic traditions, and free improvisation.

Lisa Lipton (clarinet) – Clarinetist, broadcaster, and arts leader, serving as Executive Director of 45th Parallel Universe and Opera Theater Oregon and host on All Classical Radio.

Chang Park (trumpet) – Portland trumpeter and educator known for his versatility and collaborative approach across diverse musical settings.

Brent Carmer (bass) – A bassist working across jazz, ambient music, and free improvisation, with recent releases on Projekt Records and beyond.

Paris Butler (keys) – Founder of Blue Butler Studios, creating immersive performances through synthesis, improvisation, and sonic experimentation.

Sam Berrett (drums) – A versatile drummer active in Portland’s jazz and creative music scenes, equally at home in groove-based and freely improvised music.

Kyra Jorgensen (voice) – Vocalist and composer whose work blends jazz traditions with themes of transformation, symbolism, and renewal.

Wyck Malloy (saxophone) – Portland saxophonist performing everywhere from straight-ahead jazz sessions to adventurous improvised music.

Judith Berkson (voice) – Acclaimed composer, vocalist, and pianist whose work bridges experimental music, improvisation, and contemporary composition.

Mark Orton (multi-instrumentalist) – Founding member of Tin Hat and composer of acclaimed film scores including Nebraska and The Holdovers.

Video by: Noah Simpson (trumpet) – Trumpeter, composer, and educator whose music draws from jazz, improvisation, hip-hop, and Black American musical traditions.

After party :MLTZR (electronics/bass) – Beatmaker, producer, and bassist whose work connects jazz improvisation with contemporary electronic music and beat culture.

10/11/2026

Improvisation Summit of Portland- NIGHT 12

ROUND ROBIN

Desert Island Studios
1316 SE 12th Ave, Portland, OR, 97214

Judith Berkson: A composer, vocalist, and pianist. Her research centers around tuning and microtonality as they relate to memory and perception, exploring the small spaces between similarity and difference.

Paris Butler: Founder of Blue Butler Studios. Paris utilizes sonic textures to create the musical catastrophes with moments of melodic relief.

Mark Orton: A composer working in the mediums of film scoring, concert music, and radio/podcast. He is both a multi-instrumentalist and collector of antique and unusual instruments, performing on all manner of guitars, keyboards, and percussion.

Brent Carmer: An upright bass player in Portland, OR. He has collaborated with a range of musicians in the realms of jazz, ambient, and freely improvised music.

Chang Park: A trumpet player and music editor based in Portland, OR, known for adapting to different styles and musical settings.

Kyra Jorgensen: Performs jazz standards along with her original compositions across Portland, exploring themes of personal deconstruction and rebirth.

Suck Malloy: Saxophone player with a bachelors in Jazz Performance from PSU. He can be seen around town playing straight ahead jazz and freely improvisation.

Sam Barrett: Portland based drummer/multi-instrumentalist that leans into improv-heavy music.

Lisa Lipton: Clarinetist and leader of many musical organizations, and a versatile instrumentalist.

AFTERPARTY DJ: MLTZR

Video by Noah Simpson

Poster by Eatcho

10/07/2026

Improvisation Summit of Portland- Final night

Portland Arts Collective
122 NW Couch St, Portland, OR 97209

FRI 10/30, 7PM

Brown Calculus: a cosmic duo who explore the expansiveness of genre-less
soundscapes. Singer-songwriter-arranger, Brown Alice (Vaughn Kimmons), and keyboardist and composer, Brown Calvin (Andre Raiah) are Geminis who illuminate the sacredness of Black music. They reveal the connection between complex time signatures and Black divinity via ritualistic improvisation. Sharing the same body in their
past lives, they perform with melanated synergy. In the Fall of 2017 they released their debut EP, Live at The Map Room. This intimate recording gives a glimpse into the jazzy and dynamic universe of Brown Calculus, who share an uplifting message of healing love.

Joe Kye: Joseph in the Well is an improvised music project devised by Portland musician Joe Kye. Using violin, loops, vocals, and electronic effects, Joseph in the Well gives voice to the inner mind of a Korean American artist at odds with the oppressive structures of Empire and man-made borders. Celestial and meditative, electric yet deeply rooted in Korean traditional vocabulary, Joseph in the Well is a sonic current flowing between generations and geography.

10/07/2026

Christian San Nicolas // Christian Ramirez // Mike Gamble

CMG Artistic Director Series

Wednesday, October 7 • 8PM
Dream House, Portland
412 NE Beech St, Portland, OR
$10 sliding scale

Join us for an evening of adventurous improvised music featuring three distinctive voices from across the creative music spectrum.

Christian San Nicolas brings a deeply personal approach to the saxophone, connecting free improvisation, CHamoru culture, and sonic storytelling. Their performances draw from the landscapes, histories, and lived experiences of Guåhan while exploring sound as a path toward autonomy, truth, and presence.

Bassist Christian Ramirez, currently studying at Manhattan School of Music, has emerged as a powerful young voice on the instrument. A recipient of numerous national honors, he has shared the stage with artists including Gary Bartz, Taylor Eigsti, Dayna Stephens, and Leona Mitchell.

Guitarist Mike Gamble is a composer, improviser, educator, and Artistic Director of the Creative Music Guild. Known for blending expansive guitar textures, electronics, and spontaneous composition, Gamble has performed internationally and collaborated with artists including Nels Cline, Shahzad Ismaily, Wayne Horvitz, Laura Veirs, and Bobby Previte.

Expect an evening of spontaneous creation, solo sets, deep listening, and musical conversations that exist only in the moment.

Thanks David Brooks for the support

10/07/2026

Improvisation Summit of Portland – Nights 8 & 15
No Fun
1709 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR 97214

TUES October 20, 2026 • 8:00 PM
TUES October 27, 2026 • 8:00 PM

$10-30 Suggested Donation (Sliding Scale)

Two standout nights at No Fun bring together an extraordinary lineup of local and visiting artists exploring the far reaches of improvised and experimental music.

Night 8 features Melissa Achten, the Los Angeles harpist, improviser, and composer whose work moves between the real and the sublime through deeply personal sonic worlds. She is joined by William DeLee, whose improvisational approach to guitar, charango, and ronroco draws from American primitive guitar, South American traditions, drone, ambient music, and beyond. Opening the evening is Cameron Landers, whose thoughtful approach to improvisation transforms melody and sound into dreamlike forms and symbols

Night 15 brings Portland sound artist blond-noise, whose immersive performances combine guitar, modular synth, voice, field recordings, noise, and feedback into rich electroacoustic environments. The evening also features Gitslinger, the improvising trio of Alan Cook, Mike Murray, and Jack Maiolo, creating spontaneous compositions built on decades of experience, deep listening, and collective exploration. The night closes with Oleo’s Al Pasture, featuring Mike Gamble, Christian San Nicolas, and Joshua Lehman, celebrating the release of their debut recording with a set rooted in samba, ambient music, and free improvisation.

ImprovisedMusic

10/06/2026

CMG ISP26 Nights 8 and 10 @ Turn! Turn! Turn!

MON 10/19, 8pm

Andrew Jones with Richard Laws: Since arriving in Portland in 2009, multifarious bassist Andrew has been difficult to categorize. He finds himself at home in a free improvisation collective, accompanying a songwriter or collaborating with artists in dance and theater. Richard is a musician and composer in Portland working mostly on homemade software instruments. He believes technology is only useful when used incorrectly.

James Staub: A composer and multi-instrumentalist based in Portland, Oregon, focused on interactive composition systems, real-time performance software, and algorithmic improvisation.

Keith Witty Trio (THEIFS) : United by a shared passion for jazz and hip hop, and driven by a desire to explore new musical territories and hybrid forms.

WED 10/21, 8pm

Dylan M. Howe: An experimental musician and sound artist from the PNW. His music emphasizes the use of field recordings, homemade and modified consumer electronics, radio transmissions, digital processing, and acoustic instrumentation to blur the lines between acoustic and electronic sound.

Logan Stroshal: A composer and woodwind artist based in Portland, OR, in a perpetual state of omnivorous synthesis, and The New Normal is his group.

Midwest Programme: A solo project of Portland, OR multi-instrumentalist Johnathan Foster. Combining traditional and electronic instruments, Foster blends chaotic, textured drones, looped and layered vocals, and volume-swelled synths to produce massive, cinematic style soundscapes.

Poster by Eatcho

10/05/2026

CMG ISP26 Nights 7 and 14 at Speck’s Records

MON 10/19, 5-7PM:

DinnerwitJesus: Cameron is a dynamic creator of sound and drummer whose artistic journey reflect a deep commitment to pushing musical boundaries and honoring ancestral roots.

Clodewerks: Clodewerks is the musical moniker of Kyle Linneman, an accomplished trumpet player and innovative producer.

Alex Callenberger: Portland Based Guitarist, synth wizard and cinematic expressionist, Alex Callenberger created soundscapes to dream to and swim through.

SUN 10/26, 5-7PM:

Anthony Stillabower: Anthony J. Stillabower’s improvisations are shaped by voice, feedback electronics, and machine learning algorithms.

Sam Adams: Known for Honest and idiosyncratic performances, he remains stylistically syncretic, embracing jazz, folk, classical, gospel, and the avant-garde, and composing vocal and instrumental music.

Two Savage Denzels: A trio that performs largely free improvised music and features not one, but two Denzels!

Poster by Eatcho

10/01/2026

Our 2026 Improvisation Summit Featured Artist is Judith Berkson, a composer, vocalist, and pianist whose work explores tuning, microtonality, memory, and perception. Her music brings together jazz, cantorial chant, lieder, improvisation, and contemporary composition, and she has collaborated with artists and ensembles including Kronos Quartet, Laurie Anderson, Vijay Iyer, JACK Quartet, Alvin Lucier, Mivos Quartet, Wet Ink, and Yarn/Wire.

We are honored to welcome one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary creative music as the featured artist of the 2026 Improvisation Summit. Across four days of concerts, improvisation, and education, Portland audiences will have a rare opportunity to experience the breadth of Judith Berkson’s artistic practice.

Join us for four opportunities to experience her work during ISP 2026:

October 22, 7-10pm
Swan Dive
$10-30 suggested donation (sliding scale)
Liederkreis
Judith Berkson, Stevie Schmidt, and REACTOR (James Powers, Xylyn Hathaway, and Paul Moyer).

October 23, 7pm
Leaven Community
$10-30 suggested donation (sliding scale)
Judith Berkson Trio with Andrew Jones and Mike Lockwood, plus the Portland Microtonal Chamber Orchestra featuring Richie Greene, Maxx Katz, Andy Rayborn, Timmy Barnett, Jacob Mitas, and James Staub

October 24, 7pm
Desert Island Studios
$10-30 suggested donation (sliding scale)
Improvisation Summit Round Robin hosted by Ben Woodman featuring Judith Berkson alongside Mark Orton, Paris Butler, Chang Park, Brent Carmer, Sam Berrett, Wyck Malloy, Kyra Jorgenson, Noah Simpson, and many more.

October 25, 12-3pm
Second Story Studios
$60
Counterpoint Workshop with Judith Berkson focused on Renaissance polyphony, modal counterpoint, and deep listening practices.

10/01/2026

Improvisation Summit of Portland Day 5 & Night 6:

Lorin Benedict

Speck’s Records

Lorin Benedict W/ Machado Mijiga
Saturday October 17th, 2026 — 3-5pm
FREE
8216 N Denver Ave, Portland, OR 97217

Leaven Community

Solo • W/ Delos Erickson • W/Delos Erickson & Machado Mijiga
+ Craig Burk • Code Poems • Arrington de Dionyso’s Voice Mask
Sunday October 18th, 2026 — 7pm
$10-30 suggested donation- sliding scale
5431 NE 20th Ave, Portland, OR 97211

The Improvisation Summit of Portland features acclaimed improvising vocalist Lorin Benedict, whose unique approach to spontaneous music-making has earned him recognition as one of the most singular solo voices in contemporary creative music. Drawing from jazz, free improvisation, and experimental traditions, Benedict transforms the voice into a powerful improvisational instrument, crafting intricate melodies, rhythms, and textures entirely in the moment.

A longtime collaborator with innovative artists including Caroline Davis, Steve Coleman, and now PDX’s own Machado Mijiga, Benedict is celebrated for his extraordinary listening, creativity, and fearless exploration. His performances move fluidly between, abstraction, and deeply expressive musical storytelling.

At ISP 2026, Benedict will present a rare solo set alongside collaborative performances with Delos Erickson and Machado Mijiga, showcasing the depth, spontaneity, and collective spirit that define his work.

The Creative Music Guild

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