WARREN MILLER PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
Fresh off the stage from winning the award for Best Arrangement, Instrument, and Vocals at the 2024 Grammy Awards, vocal supergroup säje will perform in Big Sky at the Warren Miller Performing Arts Center on Saturday, March 2 at 7:30 p.m. The group has barely been around for four years, but in that time has earned two Grammy nominations and one win.
Säje (rhymes with “beige”) is the brainchild of vocalist/composers Sara Gazarek, Amanda Taylor, Johnaye Kendrick, and Erin Bentlage. Born out of close friendship and deep admiration, these world renowned artists, composers and arrangers have come together to explore, create, and celebrate the music that moves them. As individuals, each artist has crafted their own notable solo career, and now are delighted to bring their collective voices to this union, traversing a vast array of compelling original material, beloved jazz standards and reimaginings of contemporary hits.
As author Micah Hendler of Forbes put it, “säje is blazing a new trail for female composers and performers in the jazz world.” After debuting an inspiring and energized set at the 2020 Jazz Education
Network Conference in New Orleans, säje went on to tour multiple jazz festivals and clubs from January to March. During quarantine, säje received their first Grammy nomination, in the Best New Arrangement Instruments and Vocals category, for their composition “Desert Song.” They were awarded the John Lennon Songwriting Contest Grand Prize Award for “Wisteria,” as well as their first Jazz Journalists Association Award Nomination for “Best Vocal Jazz Group.” The collective also recently received support for their continued work through the Chamber Music of America New Jazz Works grant, the Super Patron Grant, the Jazz Road Creative Residencies grant, and the USC Visions + Voices grant.
Writing for Urban Music Scene, Terrill Hana wrote that säje is “One of the finest vocal tandems you will ever hear in our lifetime. A new gift of voices to reach our generation is right before your eyes and ears.”
Their highly anticipated debut album was released in August 2023. It features new original work and compelling covers, highlighting collaborations with artists Jacob Collier, Terri Lyne Carrington, Ambrose Akinmusire, and more. The union of säje is rooted in the tradition of joy, curiosity, lush harmony, heart-felt expression and profound sisterhood.
“We’ve had numerous Grammy award winners on our stage before, but never so shortly after winning their award,” said John Zirkle, WMPAC’s artistic director. “But regardless of their win and academy recognition, this is going to be an incredibly moving night of music.”
Tickets and more information are available at warrenmillerpac.org.
