World-class jazz under the summer sky: The Charlie Porter Quintet returns to Orcas Island

Published 1:30 am Saturday, July 25, 2026

By Steve Alboucq

Special to the Sounder

On Sunday, July 26, the community is in for an absolute treat as the Charlie Porter Quintet takes the stage on the Village Green. If you’re looking for the perfect weekend plan, this is it — these outdoor Sunday concerts in Eastsound already draw several hundred locals and visitors, and we want to make sure Charlie Porter gets the massive island welcome he deserves! The concert starts at 5 p.m. and is entirely free thanks to Orcas Center and Doe Bay. Bring a lawn chair or a blanket, and invite your neighbors!

Who is Charlie Porter?

Porter isn’t just any trumpeter; he is a Grammy Award-winning musician, celebrated for his outstanding jazz trumpet contributions to the crossover album “Songplay” by classical opera star Joyce DiDonato. His classical and jazz credentials are among the most prestigious in the world:

He holds an undergraduate degree from The Juilliard School and a master’s from the Manhattan School of Music. He studied at the Paris Conservatory as a Fulbright Scholar. As a freshman at Juilliard, he won the school’s quadrennial Trumpet Concerto Competition in 1996. He took second place in the International Trumpet Guild Solo Competition back-to-back in 1998 and 1999. He made history as the first musician ever to win first prize in both the Classical Solo and Jazz divisions of the prestigious National Trumpet Competition (winning Classical in 1999 and Jazz in 2000) — a feat previously thought to be nearly impossible.

Today, Porter is recognized globally as a world-class composer and educator, boasting a massive following on YouTube and authoring award-winning trumpet method books.

His Orcas Island connection

For Porter, this gig is a bit of a homecoming. He first fell in love with Orcas Island back in 2010 while touring and performing here with the renowned Dallas Brass. Not long after, he married a local girl and moved to the island, spending four wonderful years as part of our community. Though he now resides on the East Coast, his ties here remain deep.

On a personal note, Porter is a dear friend of mine. I’ve had the distinct privilege of studying under him, performing alongside him and even helping him work on a couple of his album projects. I can tell you firsthand that his dedication to his craft is unmatched.

Reimagining the Future: “Sci-Fi Standards, Vol. 1”

If you think jazz is “only for a certain crowd,” think again. For this special performance, the Quintet will be playing music from Charlie’s highly anticipated new release, “Sci-Fi Standards, Vol. 1: The Future We Knew.”

At the heart of jazz is the tradition of the “standard” — familiar melodies from Broadway and Hollywood that musicians use as a launchpad for improvisation. Porter’s bold new project extends this lineage into the cosmos, treating the iconic cinematic themes of science fiction as the next evolution of the jazz standard.

During the concert, you’ll hear familiar, globally recognized motifs from legendary sci-fi universes reimagined as expansive, improvisational jazz works, including: “Star Wars” and “Star Trek,” “Blade Runner” and “Back to the Future,” “Dune” and “The Terminator” and “Alien” and “Stargate.” This is music that feels both epic and intimate, nostalgic and forward-looking. It uses these beloved pop-culture soundtracks to tap into our collective imagination and bring us together through a shared human story.

Joining Porter on stage is a stellar lineup of world-class musicians. Together, they will expand these classic cinematic motifs into rich harmonic landscapes and open improvisational frameworks you won’t want to miss.

Let’s pack the lawn and show this incredibly talented former local how much Orcas Island appreciates world-class music!