Clarinetist Michel Portal has the unique position of being one of the architects of modern European jazz and having a hand in some of the most significant shifts in modern classical music. In addition to leading and co-leading groups throughout the ’70s, Portal was a central figure in post-Cageian open-form classical music. With Vinko Globokar, Carlos Roque Alsina and Jean-Pierre Drouet, Portal and New Phonic Art worked with Stockhausen, Maruicio Kagel and Luciano Berio among others – figuring importantly in Stockhausen’s From the Seven Days compositional cycle. Since the 1980s, Portal has composed music for films in addition to working as one of France’s and Europe’s leading improvisers.