Name: säje
Start: 2025-02-27T19:30:00-06:00
Location: Blue Strawberry STL

$s\u00e4je$

“säje is blazing a new trail for female composers and performers in the jazz world.” – MICAH HENDLER // FORBES
“…[säje] explores the edges of jazz and pop with a combination of inventive covers and brilliantly written originals.” – ERIC TEEL // NPR
The GRAMMY® nominated vocal supergroup, 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 contemporary re-imaginings (The Bad Plus, YEBBA, Björk, etc). 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, for their composition “Desert Song” in the Best Arrangement Instruments and Vocals category. They were awarded the John Lennon Songwriting Contest Grand Prize Award for their second composition “Wisteria”, as well as their first Jazz Journalists Association Award Nomination for “Best Vocal Jazz Group”. The collective also recently received gracious 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. Their highly anticipated debut album was released in August of 2023, featuring new original work and compelling covers, highlighting collaborations with artists Jacob Collier, Terri Lyne Carrington, Ambrose Akinmusire, and more. The album was received to critical acclaim, and wide reception, landing a #2 spot on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Chart in its first week, and peaking at #4 on the iTunes Jazz Chart. The union of säje is rooted in the tradition of joy, curiosity, lush harmony, heart-felt expression, and profound sisterhood.

St. Louis Vocal Project was formed in 2018 with five interested singers, and it has grown to 35 women who sing four part a cappella harmony. The nonprofit community ensemble, under the direction of Sandi Wright, is an auditioned chorus affiliated with an Harmony Incorporated, an international singing organization. In November the group competed in Louisville with 33 other choruses from Canada and the United States where they took home the fourth place medal. Based in Webster Groves, MO, the St. Louis Vocal Project sings various concerts in Missouri and Illinois and ranges in age from 13 to 80.