Saxofonist

»I’ll be back!« announced Samara Joy after her acclaimed Elbphilharmonie debut in November 2023 – now the young jazz singer with the goosebump voice is keeping her word and returning with her third album »Portrait«. The five-time Grammy award winner, who is often compared to greats such as Nina Simone, Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald, presents classics in new arrangements as well as originals and her own lyrics to jazz standards.

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Samara Joy

Elbphilharmonie Hamburg

At 23, Samara Joy is already setting the music world ablaze. Her 2022 Verve Records debut Linger Awhile has earned her two well-deserved GRAMMY wins, for Best Jazz Vocal Album and Best New Artist — the first time a jazz musician has won the prestigious newcomer’s award since Esperanza Spalding over a decade ago.

Hailing from a family of musicians in the Bronx with roots in gospel, Joy began her journey with jazz at age 17, winning Best Vocalist honors at Lincoln Center’s “Essentially Ellington” competition.


SFJAZZ Center

A native of the Bronx, Samara Joy became entranced by classic R&B as a child and cut her teeth as asinger in her church’s gospel choir. And while her family history is deeply musical—her grandparents helmed the Philadelphia gospel group the Savettes, and her father, the musician and songwriter Antonio McLendon, has produced, composed and arranged his own astounding original work—she didn’t delve into the jazz tradition until college at SUNY Purchase. During her studies there she won the 2019 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition, which introduced her to the larger jazz scene as a rising star to watch. She was heard, by audiences and critics alike, as a masterful interpreter of jazz standards and a rightful heiress of the sound, technique and charisma that defined her jazz heroines—including Vaughan, Betty Carter, Abbey Lincoln and Carmen McRae.

Saxofonist

Kendric McCallister

Events

Upcoming events

Oct 2, 2026

Samara Joy Septet · Groton Hill Music Center

Past events

Jul 6, 2025

Samara Joy · Elbphilharmonie

Jun 16, 2023

Samara Joy · San Francisco Jazz

About

Kendric McCallister hasn't added a bio