press kit

Sage and Zaza

original tunes steeped in vintage jazz

bio

Sage Harrington and Ukulelezaza (Remco Houtman-Janssen) are a ukulele duo that swings. Their set features co-writes of their original songs in which they channel both the jazz that Sage grew up loving, and the Hawaiian music that permeated Remco’s childhood. With Sage’s vocals soaring above the duo’s sweetly plucked ukuleles, they create a fun atmosphere as if inviting a refreshing musical breeze to waft through.

Going by the moniker Ukulelezaza, Remco is well-known in the ukulele world for his delicate and virtuosic playing style. It has been said that he is “truly one of the greatest players of our era. That assessment takes in not only [his] playing/musicianship, but [his] arrangements and showmanship as well. [He is] the real deal.” Having published 5 volumes of tablature books for solo ukulele, people all over the world play both Ukulelezaza’s original compositions and arrangements of Hawaiian and jazz classics.

Sage Harrington is an inventive, playful singer and songwriter in love with swing music. Hailing from the USA, you can hear her deep love and appreciation of both jazz and American folk genres in her ukulele playing and singing. With a voice informed by the smooth vocal precision of Alison Krauss and the passionate swing of the great Ella Fitzgerald, Sage will have you singing along not only with the catchy gems of the 1920s, but also to the sweepingly beautiful melodies of her own compositions. Sage currently resides in northern France.

After having played in Hawaiian bands throughout the late 1990s, Ukulelezaza now teams up with Sage Harrington for more music that oozes the spirit of aloha. Sage is a singer-songwriter and ukulele performer and teacher who’s been making a name for herself in Europe since moving to Germany two years ago. Together they have been writing and performing songs in the style of the 1920s – their big love – but recently discovered a mutual love for Hawaiian music from that same era. Sage plays ukulele and sings, Zaza plays ukulele and acoustic steel guitar.

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Sage and Zaza teach ukulele workshops

Sage offers:

Swingin’ Singin’: a Jazz Uke Workshop (Sage)

Sing and swing a beloved tune from the golden jazz era. Along with learning the vocal part to a catchy tune from about a century ago, you’ll leave the workshop with a complete arrangement for the uke accompaniment of the song at hand, perfect for framing your singing. Expand your swing repertoire and learn some fun uke techniques that you can apply to other songs in your repertoire, too, and really swing your uke.

Suitable for all levels.

Songwriting Playshop: Writing Singable Songs (Sage)

Spice up your songwriting! In this all levels workshop, we’ll explore strategies for composing melodies, writing chord progressions, marrying lyrical content to the music, and building an emotional arc into a song—in a fun, straightforward, and hands-on way. You’ll leave the workshop as a proud writer of a complete, brand-spanking new song, armed with tips and tricks to continue writing singable songs in the future. Bring your ukulele along.

Suitable for all levels.

Jam in Any Key: Moveable Uke Shapes (Sage)

The ukulele fretboard contains countless constellations of chord shapes that can be demystified with a little practice. Sage will help orient you to commonly used chord patterns that, when you get them under your fingers, will serve you time and time again, no matter what key a song is in. With a dash of music theory, a sprinkle of the circle of fifths, and a little left-hand flexibility, you can get to know your ukulele better and have more fun jamming!

Level: confident beginner and up

Sage and Zaza also offer this joint workshop:

Double the Fun (Sage and Zaza)

Playing together doubles the fun. In this duo workshop, Sage and Zaza will demonstrate several nifty ways to complement one another and create a wider range in sound and rhythm – perfect for jams, ukulele clubs and basically any band with any line-up. And there’s good news for lonesome home strummers: most of the techniques work just as well when you’re playing on your own.

Level: confident beginner and up

Zaza offers:

Strum Fun (Zaza)

Music is all about expression. In this workshop Zaza will demonstrate the techniques that define his smooth and groovy playing style. You will learn to add color and emotion to your music, with strums and dynamics that are easy and efficient—and some that require a bit more practice, like his own invention the Peacock.

Suitable for all levels.

George Formby Style Syncopation (Zaza)

In his early career the British entertainer George Formby was struggling to get noticed – until he picked up a banjolele. The rest is history. To this day people all over the world are fascinated by
the fierce syncopated strumming style that he developed. The basic rhythm is called splitstroke and is surprisingly easy to learn. But there’s a lot more to it! In this workshop Zaza will start with the basics and then demonstrate several little extras, for both hands, that Formby used in all of his hundreds of recordings. Formby style sounds best on a uke-banjo, but works just as well on
any wooden or reso uke.

Level: confident beginner and up

Swing It! (Zaza)

In this workshop Zaza will teach you the basics (and beyond!) of swing music, from laid-back afterbeat variations to fingerpicking swing and of course the quintessential gypsy jazz rhythm. Most toe-tapping techniques taught in this workshop work for other music styles as well.

Level: confident beginner and up

Rare Tricks & Grooves (Zaza)

It doesn’t always have to be the same old up and down. In this workshop Zaza teaches you a bunch of cool tricks and grooves that will wow your friends, foes and fellow ukers. The techniques include the weird but wonderful finger-flap, a nifty fingerpicking swing and Zaza’s own magical Peacock strum. They’ll work in all music styles, or maybe none but you’ll have fun doing it anyway. Guaranteed!

Level: confident beginner and up