"In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning" // säje (featuring Jacob Collier)

Vocal supergroup säje performs their GRAMMY Award® winning arrangement of “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning”, featuring vocalist/pianist extraordinaire Jacob Collier, from their critically acclaimed debut album "säje" (Aug 25th, 2023), which reached #2 on the Jazz Billboard and iTunes jazz charts in its first week.
www.sajevoices.com
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DEBUT ALBUM CD or VINYL: www.hellomerch...
DEBUT ALBUM Streaming: orcd.co/sajesaje
säje is: Sara Gazarek, Amanda Taylor, Johnaye Kendrick, and Erin Bentlage.
“In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning” written by David Mann/Bob Hilliard; arranged by Sara Gazarek, Amanda Taylor, Johnaye Kendrick, and Erin Bentlage with Jacob Collier; featuring säje and Jacob Collier on piano + vocals. Vocal engineering, production, and editing by Erin Bentlage and Amanda Taylor; Jacob Collier tracking by Pete Min at Lucy’s Meat Market; mixed and mastered by Rich Breen. Artwork designed by Miles Wintner with line drawing by Kaveh Rastegar. Album produced by säje.
“säje is blazing a new trail for female composers and performers in the jazz world” -- Micah Hendler, Forbes
“...[säje is] taking the vocal jazz ensemble into the 21st century.” -- Abe Beeson, KNKX/NPR
“...transcendent music.” -- DownBeat Magazine
//
“It was an absolute thrill to hear Jacob improvise this tender and heart-forward rendition of an iconic jazz standard in the recording studio, and to then to be given the space to compose and arrange, layer and paint around him, after the fact,” shares Sara Gazarek. Erin Bentlage continues, “I realized quite soon into the session that Jacob was very deliberately holding space for us in everything he was doing. Specific breaths, harmonic pivots around single long notes, leaving room for us to play in a moment he could have easily taken - in take after take of unendingly generous creativity.”
When a jazz ensemble earns a GRAMMY Award® nomination with its very first song, something unusual is in the works. Magic is a word that comes up often when the women of säje talk about the group’s founding and evolution, and the story of their first single, "Desert Song," has attained near legendary status. Early in the group’s journey, the women took a retreat in Palm Springs where they formed closer bonds and experienced a creative breakthrough. This creative energy resurfaced when they had the opportunity to perform at the Jazz Education Network Conference in New Orleans, which then led the women to quickly create an entire set of new material, much of which makes up the debut album.
Encompassing finely wrought originals, reimagined jazz standards and inventive interpretations of contemporary tunes by the likes of YEBBA, The Bad Plus, Michael Jackson, and more, säje’s debut exists in a space without sonic or genre boundaries, coaxing the vocal ensemble into new sonic territory. In addition to Jacob Collier, guests on the album include vocalist Michael Mayo, trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, drummer and NEA Jazz Master Terri Lyne Carrington, tenor saxophonist Daniel Rotem, bassist Ben Williams, drummer Christian Euman, and pianist Dawn Clement.
When you look at the accomplishments of the women in säje, their individual virtuosity and singular chemistry starts to make sense. Erin Bentlage has been featured on albums by Jacob Collier (Djesse Vol. 3), Kiefer (When There’s Love Around), Kate McGarry (What To Wear In The Dark), and Amber Navran (their collaboration Golden Light). Amanda Taylor is a Grammy-nominated arranger known for her work with leading vocal ensembles, including Groove for Thought, The Manhattan Transfer, Chanticleer, and Kings Return. Johnaye Kendrick has honed a deep repertoire of originals and inventively arranged standards, jazz tunes and contemporary pop songs, having released two albums on her record label johnygirl, 2014’s Here, and 2018’s acclaimed Flying. Sara Gazarek is a two-time GRAMMY® nominee for her solo albums, and is widely considered one of her generation’s definitive jazz vocalists.
With multiple award nominations and critical acclaim this early in their artistic journey, säje is poised to shine on the international stage with their debut album, paving the way for other singers to explore new sonic and emotional territories.

[@jj5jj5]

“I realized quite soon into the session that Jacob was very deliberately holding space for us in everything he was doing. Specific breaths, harmonic pivots around single long notes, leaving room for us to play in a moment he could have easily taken - in take after take of unendingly generous creativity.” "Unendingly generous creativity" is a perfect way to describe Jacob Collier

[@transcribemusic]

GRAMMY!!! Well deserved. Congrats to all of you!! ❤

[@KristerRehn]

Ohhhh my!!!!!!!!! What a combo😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

[@jas_bataille]

Jacob contemplating the music and realizing, "I'm not alone anymore... I found my people" brings me to tears. It's such a rare sight to see a genius pause and absorb the gravity of what he is about to make. You could see that this was not easy for him, that he was learning from it, and trying to understand. Phenomenal... the human mind have no limits...

[@qualitydag1]

Music of the spheres. Like floating on feathers being guided by heavenly vooal vibrations.

[@CalebOlshefsky]

Wildly enough. I just learned through another video that he recorded his part on his own and they figured out and added their vocals after the fact. It's still INCREDIBLE but I thought that was interesting. :)

[@AnaM.F]

Yahhhh. He’s not “ alone” anymore.💝

[@AnaM.F]

Maro,s vibes💝

[@nicks5714]

Keep in mind, Jacob Collier collaborates on almost every track and performance he gives. Not easy for him? This is his every day. A few hours in his YT channel would go to prove.

[@InBoostWeTrust7MGTE]

This JUST won Grammy. Congratulations ❤

[@cathyrackowski2824]

I adore it at age 68 I’ve found new incredible music. Thank you Jacob for leading me to these incredible women!

[@Beispaua]

Then you can try now listening to säje's "Desert Song". My Song of the year.

[@fliprim]

These women are wonderful. It is sweet they found Jacob for this, once a boy who conjured whole worlds of sound alone in his room, who, when grown, discovered he could help the world conjure these sounds also. Jacob helps make space for others to flourish.

[@bonnetmartin]

I burst into tears when I heard it the first time. And I know I’m not the only one. As a sensitive human it’s strikes my sole, again and a again. Thank you Jacob for being in my world.

[@rightchordleadership]

I hope the bottom of your foot will be OK

[@Dodecatone]

It took me a long time to understand what the description meant: Jacob recorded his improvisation alone, and saje devised and recorded the harmonies after the fact. They sound so perfectly unified it was hard for me to wrap my head around it. Bravo to all!

[@atrinae]

If Sirens exist, they must sound like this... thank you for sharing your beautiful voices.

[@pm9928]

I have heard sirens, they don't sound this good, especially ambulances..

[@SUB-WFR]

my face hurts @@pm9928

[@alankovacik1928]

@@pm9928 😆

[@lizearnshaw507]

Many congratulations on the Grammy. Richly deserved.

[@jj5jj5]

1:26 When Jacob comes in is utterly, staggeringly beautiful

[@PiercingSight]

This perfectly captures that magical feeling of sitting in a cold misty wood as faint rays of sunlight pierce through the fog and melt the dew in scattered gentle waves, before eventually giving way to warm light and chirping birds. I love this so much~

[@ChefChrisDay]

Just when I didn't think there were any other levels to Jacob's upper limits, I stumble across something so pointedly captivating and full of melancholic clarity and beauty as this.

[@jas_bataille]

It's seeing him being captivated by the gravitational pull of this arrangement so much, it really had him thinking deeply. So see Jacob's own limits being pushed by others, too, is surreal. I bet he felt pretty great to play with people in his level who are challenging him lol it must not happen very often for Jacob!

[@ogdennash2439]

I don't understand the World anymore .... how can this most beautiful peice of creation only have 58K views, when some commercial crap gets 10's of millions of views. ???

[@InBoostWeTrust7MGTE]

Dont worry. They just won grammy.

[@TacoInvader69]

Read the chapter on the culture industry from the dialectic of enlightenment by Adorno and Horkheimer, u'll understand.

[@SomaStory]

You just said it yourself, because they're 'commercial crap'. Mainstream pop music is almost always designed to be hits. Doesn't always imply that they're good or not. But it totally makes sense why they'd have high viewer/listener counts.

[@ieatbabeez]

Not new. Moby Dick was a failure during Melville’s life.

[@susanallen6526]

I only learned about this through the Grammys. I think other videos of his are more widely viewed.

[@arnoldbestable]

If it's possible to hear something beyond beautiful....this is it. 👍🏾🙏🏾👊🏾👏🏾🥰

[@WannaKamaka]

I’ve watched this 12 times in one week. Love it. Because of this video, I’ve discovered this musical genius….Jacob Collier!

[@StevenFeifke]

One of the greatest arrangements I've ever heard

[@Jordz3n]

Time to listen to this wonderful arrangement for the nth time. Well-deserved Grammys, säje and Jacob.

[@rudolfboukal1538]

Wow! Breathtaking ..... a performance by five musical geniuses. Delicate and Beautiful!!

[@berlinbackingtracks]

Wow! The subtlety. The harmonies. The rythm. The dynamics. 😮😍

[@gubblfisch350]

Who thinks of ending a song without singing the last 2 words ("of all")? It even ends on the dominant and then then you have 23 seconds of silence but the camera is still showing the musicians. So you totally expect to hear the last 2 words after a longer pause. But they never come. It even looks as if they are contemplating whether they should add the ending or not. That has to be on purpose and I love the effect it had on me. Very deserving of that Grammy

[@CraigGood]

You think you've heard a song, and then musicians like this let you hear it again for the first time.

[@michaelrose4916]

Spatially and with the singers they are from another dimension.

[@GHRiz]

What an absolutely stunning, incredible arrangement.

[@samuelreisart]

Beautiful arrangement, Jacob was so into it, we can see how much he was thinking in the beggining haha!

[@katakozma11]

and cudos to the engineers Pete Min (recording) and Rich Breen (mix-master)

[@ENERGY-ng6no]

They sing with their eyes closed. I listen with my eyes closed . 💜

[@matteogazzolo1]

How can simply say "thank you" con fullfill the gratitude I'd love to be able to express?

[@barak_ahtha]

"Wow"...real music, still exists. Just..."wow". ❤❤❤ 🙏🏿

[@jkrigas8137]

The nuance of your singing is otherworldly good. You make it sound easy - but the amazing finesse has to be so hard to align. Not to mention the harmonies are so tight and extended at times that it makes this even more impressive. Incredible arrangement and performance!!!!

[@markfristedt3270]

Words fail me. And I get to see them live day after tomorrow.

[@coreymcpherson3668]

They haven’t created words to describe this yet….

[@sean4630]

It's like listening to 4 Bonnie Hermans (Singers Unlimited) you Lady's are awesome... Glad you were able to fit that Jacob guy in somewhere *wink*

[@mcasasol]

Wow! the wonderful Amanda Taylor from "Grove for thought", and the Mozart of our era... the one and only Jacob... what a delight!

[@michsub]

One of the most stunningly beautiful pieces of music I've heard in my life

[@johnmckenzie7714]

Wonderful ❤

[@shalmeneseriii]

delighted but not surprised at all that these peeps found each other

[@mikoparsonius]

Fabulous. Just Fabulous!

[@muhammad.rahmattullah3745]

Congrats for the grammy

[@christinamorris1594]

I’m at a loss for words. I am a pitch and music nerd. I’ve tried getting small groups like this together, but it has never been at this level of satisfying, of this feeling of total fulfillment achieved. I am shook and want to be there in the middle of such beautiful, perfection; surrounded by such delicate genius. Thank you so much.

[@thencfolf]

3:10 has me melting...the shift in brightness feels like a warm hug 😩

[@JBinFL]

My god. The absolute lock on the harmony in the vocalizations.

[@musvolk]

How is it even possible to hear harmonically like this? I presume this is Collier’s doing. Astounding!

[@musvolk]

A seminal piece of recorded music.

[@bobbyc912]

Congrats on your Grammy!

[@uniqdzign2]

An amazing combination, Säje and Jacob Collier. Far more than it's lightness of voice and touch implies. 'Beautiful' merely brushes upon the lack of words to describe this rendition. Thank you so much.

[@kategarcia4301]

The first instrument. That was stunning. I'm so glad I found this group. ❤

[@AGoodVibe]

Heartwrenchingly beautiful.

[@davidfleuchaus]

The depths, mined and brought to the surface.

[@KingaSzanto]

You wonderful, magical ladies! ❣️ And Jacobs's signature rapid blinks of concentration 🙃

[@hcoutts297]

Congratulations on the Grammy win!!! 🌟🍾😊

[@Palbvial]

WOW! wonderfull magic place!

[@markshepardsongs]

it's 5:30 am. having coffee before I start my day... just WOW! What a great way to start the day! thank you!

[@mamemumu]

I really respect these 5 souls🙏Pluto begins to move direct

[@beejay16351]

On the shoulders of Gene Spurling and Singers Unlimited! Superb!

[@martinschonfeldt990]

yeah, exctly what I feel

[@elielijahmusicph]

aaa 2 of my faves covering my fave song! this is the best!

[@DanielKepelMusic]

Next Grammy incoming!

[@kaymojil7669]

Pure musical joy and excitement but in a hold still and hold your breath kinda way

[@clonefunk5354]

Tears are rolling.. so so beautyful

[@andreadaltro1]

Emocionante❤

[@savolainenpietari]

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@lexicocoa1]

Woooooo ‼️‼️

[@ElektronicCricket]

Wow, this time not only Jacob but also the Säje voices are great 👍🏻 ❤ … the voices all together …

[@cecilebinet9830]

Magnifique. Merci pour ce partage.🙏🌍💫

[@joneseyhelen]

Here's my usual W**0**W!!!.....attached to anything involving the musical genius that is Jacob Collier.❤

[@loudnessopfer7037]

Gratulations Jacob and the fantastic singers. This is such beautiful performance :-) Thank you so much. It's such a joy watching and listening to you. But I have question about the recording: In the video we see just one mic for the choir (I guess its a tlm 49, which is just a cardoid (based on the cable I see). However we can hear a beautiful stereo representation of the choir... Are these two different recordings?

[@mruebsam6453]

This is indeed a very interesting question :) However most important: The song, the arrangement, the perfomance is just gorgeous. Thank you!!! 🙂

[@sandie683]

Absolutely beautiful!!

[@Cchogan]

Stunning

[@Happysewist]

I am listening to this in the wee, small hour of the morning. Sublime peace

[@amymalina5073]

Just gorgeous! Congratulations on a well deserved Grammy

[@nannibjune]

Oh My God!!!!!!! I am filled with joy!!!!!

[@robertlplee]

ugh love the transparency and honesty in your sound. See you at Freight and Salvage in Berkeley!

yes!! so great!

[@Robyn-u3p]

Beautifully sung ,there harmony is electrifying ,there singing takes you to another place ,it'soothing peaceful articulate beautifly done.

[@F8th63]

This is so refreshingly beautiful. So soothing. This mix sounds like Karen Carpenter mixed with Manhattan Transfer. It’s fantastic.I’m completely attracted to this sound. Grammy Award 🥇!

[@SolarMumuns]

And singers unlimited

[@cocoagirl]

I also thought it has resemblance to Manhattan Transfer

[@marshallballantine-jones3819]

Winners!!!!

[@AdelieCreations]

Congratulations on your Grammy award!! 🏆🥳🎈🎉

[@dfaz333]

Beautiful...

[@GoSMMOfficial]

What a collaboration..... Just Wow!

[@beethesocialite1]

🥹🥹 this music is peace!!!

[@marilynhaverly570]

Other worldly. Stunningly beautiful. What a gift!

[@kaystreubel8622]

Sounds heavenly… and I dig Jacob‘s shirt 😊

[@NATAsings]

I listen to this song 2 or 3 times a week. It's a happy place 😄

[@mariussmall-smith4401]

Nic to her Amanda Taylor again. Missing Groove for Thought

[@robertdileo3269]

Great arrangement and unbelievable voices. Haunting.

[@davidsambora8924]

ABSOLUTELY SUBLIME - just scored some LIVE tix... BAM✴

[@onelovekiwi]

This is beautiful

[@niftyhacker]

Beautiful ❤❤❤❤❤

[@susanmorris6713]

✨🌊✨🌊✨

[@trinciacakewalk]

Wow! Wow! Wow!

[@lydiarowe491]

Never fails..creating with those who resonate on the same energy level..beautiful harmony..awakens what is silent into a magical tones..💎

[@cheryll.conner7865]

Omg omg omg. Xxx

[@TheEpisodes-lr5pg]

This is so beautiful ffs

[@rabokel]

oh wow the close harmonies in the beginning hit me like a train. Amazing!

[@paulammon9746]

incredible

[@earnestj]

My God!!

[@dougitoonsdesigns]

The sheer sthereal feel of this... it's reminiscent of when Lucy wanders into the woods to see satyrs and dryads dancing with Aslan.

[@StilettoLafleur]

Congratulations! This is beautiful!!!❤❤❤🙌🏼👌🏽

[@9090MUSICLOVER]

Mystic

[@RaquelDmngz-wb6iq]

So Amazing!!❤❤

[@corysandahl]

I have a crush on every one of these beautiful ladies :)