Music Department

John Savage

instructor photo

Flute and Saxophone

Flutist, saxophonist, composer, and improviser John C. Savage has been compared to Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Herbie Mann, Noah Howard,  Ian Anderson, and Colin Stetson. Known equally as “a thoughtful and rigorous improviser,” and “a badass, knock-down-drag-out force to be reckoned with” (The Willamette Week), Savage lived in New York City for almost a decade performing with, among others, The Savage 3, Billy Fox, (The Uncle Wiggly Suite) the avant world-jazz duo Cartridge (The Black Heron and the Spoonbill), The Brooklyn Qawwali Party (eponymous release), and the Andrew Hill Big Band (A Beautiful Day). Savage continues to be a sought-after soloist and collaborator on both coasts working with a wide variety of artists, including the NYC-based Kitsune Ensemble (The Kaidan Suite and Amanogawa), Point to Line (with flutist Lisa Bost-Sandberg),  projects with composer-drummer Ken Ollis on PJCE Records (Demolition Duo and Senses Sharpened), and the poetry and music duo, Thick In The Throat, Honey (formerly called Thrum, Love Letters We Never Sent). His CD of solo flute compositions and improvisations (A Moment in Mythica) is available on Teal Creek Music. Savage serves on the board for the Creative Music Guild, which brings the best of experimental and improvised music to Portland, OR, and has received honors and awards from New York University, the Atlantic Center for the Arts, the Oregon Arts Commission, and the Portland-based Regional Arts and Culture Council. Savage holds a Ph.D. from New York University in flute performance. www.johncsavage.com