“Portizar” is the group name given after many years of playing as Gregjam which was created as a pragmatic solution to label the recording sessions. Portizar refers to Portazar which is the Armenian word for Göbekli Tepe, the oldest known temple structure in the world dating back approximately 11,000 years. It is located at the ancestral Armenian Highlands near Mount Ararat. There are celestial star systems mapped into the orientation of monolithic stones there and the energetic imprints of ritual adoration to the divine feminine. Portizar can be understood as a frequency-activated portal or a doorway into other dimensions. Therefore, Portizar represents a group of willing resonance explorers who are ready to leap into the unknown for a sonic adventure.
Our music hopes to reconnect to the energy of such ancient spiritual sites. Sometimes we incorporate dancers into our improv night. Sometimes we experiment with our consciousness. But mostly we PLAY music. (“Play” being the significant motivational word.)
100% improvised music
Portizar is a 100% improvised musical collaboration that invites various guests from all genres of the musical spectrum to come and participate in a playful dynamic of musical exploration. This approach does not utilize the pre-arrangement of any notes, chords, keys, or genre of music. This creates a completely spontaneous musical experience that is recorded once, with no do-overs. Since no musical composition is ever played twice, each recording lives as a unique, authentic musical expression of a cooperative sound journey. We often refer to this music-making approach as sonic yoga due to its mind-stretching or mind-opening nature. This metaphor describes the feeling induced by creating music this way. The freedom to truly be playful musically, a sonic adventure to climb aboard a sound ship and explore that which is beyond the known.
Our core jam group is Greg Beylerian (drums, duduk), John X Volaitis (keys, bass) and Michael Vest (guitar, keys). Over the years we have had too many guest to list but among them are:
Aaron Wills, Nico Borromeo, Matt DeMerritt, Hal Cragin, Norik Manukian, Barry Kramer, Juan Luqui, Jesse Macht, Olivia Diehl, Ara Dabandjian, Cherryl Jolyne, Lowery and Kinney
All superb artists and incredible humans!
So far, we have recorded and participated in about 189 recorded jams!! What a blessing.
On this site we offer you all of our jams, some selected curated bits and our philosophy of flow jam. Hope you like it and get yer mind blown and join us one day
Our philosophy has always been an unspoken “let the music do the talking” kinda thing. But here goes: We believe that music is sculpting vibrations to reconnect with our true selves. We also believe that it is every humans divine right as stewards of Earth to be allowed to play music and create with each other.
Most music fits within certain boxes and rules of Genre (examples: Classical, Rock, Rap, Jazz, New Age). There are also musical rules such as the 440 hz tuning tone and agreed upon distances between notes (example: major and minor scales). We try as much as possible to stay away from boxes and rules. Mostly because we have no idea what we are doing. We try to concentrate on letting go of perceptions and assumptions and going with the natural flow and rhythm of the piece that is unfolding before us. Its not always easy.
Anyway…the thing about freeform improv is that you never know what you are going to get. There are moments of pure beauty and moments of horrendous dissonance. There are thousands of times when we suck and crash and burn and also times when we achieve glorious oneness and a musical experience is born.
Our music is fun to listen to on long walks, or drives, or when just hanging about the house. It is also best in a great set of headphones. Anyway we hope you get something out of it. We certainly had a blast making it.
Lotsa love,
Portizar
Band Members
Michael Vest
Michael Vest is a musician, songwriter, and producer whose work is hoping to bring joyful, thoughtful music to the world. A Los Angeles native, he began playing music in College and it led him on to exploring many genres encompassing world, soundtrack, rock, folk, and children’s music. A graduate of Pomona College, he is known for his encompassing and vibrant collaborative spirit.
The band he co founded, Space Babies, is dedicated to amplifying global positive vibrations through their music and encouraging audiences to participate in raising awareness of the genuine possibilities for affirmative social change. He is also a founding member of the band Californiosos with Farmer Dave Scher. He is also the prolific mastermind of his own personal work as solo artist – Michael Vest
Gregory Beylerian
Spanning a career over two decades with commission projects for architectural murals, public sculpture, corporate collaborations, exhibitions and immersive art installations. Gregory Beylerian, the multi disciplinary artist explores merging the languages of photography, painting, sculpture, video and sound with new technologies to push the envelope of awareness by transcribing energy into art forms.
Beylerian’s creative approach utilizes a technique he describes as “flow dynamics”, inspired from and developed after years of training he undertook while studying with a Shaolin Buddhist master. Beylerian is committed to dissolving the boundaries between art, industry and society to unify and contribute to the human possibility.
John X Volaitis
John X Volaitis was bitten by the “Studio Bug” while still in high school. Although his love for music had always been strong, a visit to Hit Factory session at that time (1979) sparked an infatuation that has grown into a colorful & successful career over the last 40+ years..
As a leathery control room vet, Mr. X has a tremendous amount of experience to draw from. He has worked at many of the finest recording studios all over the planet with an ever-growing roster of incredible talent.