Brass • Woodwind • Voice • Piano

Bio

Zae Tinaza is a composer/improviser and multi-instrumentalist trained in the Italian school of bel canto singing. He specializes in jazz improvisation, theory and history, with an emphasis on voice, saxophone, flute and tonal development through extended techniques. Zae has over 40 years of experience and practice and 23 years of extensive study with some of the world’s most renowned educators, including Maestro James Toland, Bert Wilson, Mark Levine, Mel Martin, Dr. Francis Feldon, G.S. Sachdev, Mike McMullen and Maestro David P. Kyle, who trained renowned singers including Ann Wilson of Heart, Geoff Tate of Queensryche, Chris Cornell, Layne Staley, Judy Garland and Bing Crosby.

Zae attended American River College, Marin College, and Dominican University, as well as week-long master classes with the San Francisco Early Music Society and the Stan Kenton Orchestra, and a master class with flute master Robert Dick.

A highly versatile musician, Zae has performed everything from classical music and opera to straight-ahead and avant-garde jazz, folk, blues, soul, funk and progressive rock throughout his lengthy career. He has performed in small clubs, concert halls, theaters, and large auditoriums such as the Marin Civic Center and the Crest Theater.

He has recorded, performed, shared the stage and participated in sessions with musicians including Gail Muldrow from Sly and the Family Stone and Graham Central Station, Sam Andrews of Big Brother and the Holding Co., Elvin Bishop and his band, Terry Haggerty (Sons of Champlin), Phillip Greenlief, Tom Weeks, Rent Romus, Ansley Dunbar, Frank Hannon, and Mike Varney.

Zae was song leader from 1995–98 for the San Anselmo Baptist Church and was a 1996 recipient of the MayFlower Choral Society Scholarship fund for exhibiting exceptional musical talent. He was involved with the Marin Opera Co. from 1996–98.

His musical studies have also fostered a deep interest in intonation systems and microtonality, working with a 56-note scale, and he often combines seemingly disparate elements into his music. In recent years Zae has been composing, recording and leading his band Mo’ Mod. Steps with renowned Washington musicians including master drummer Alan Cook, guitar virtuoso and cymbal maker Ariel Calabria, and double bassists Nick Rawson and Cooper Schiegel.

Lesson Details

• Format: Private one-on-one lessons
• Instruments: Brass, Woodwind, Voice, Piano
• Levels: Beginner to advanced
• Ages: Kids, teens & adults
• Location: Skip’s Music, 4614 Madison Ave, Sacramento, CA