Watch Samara Joy's live SFJAZZ concert: https://sfjazz.org/samarajoy

This edition of Drop the Needle, GRAMMY-winning vocalist Samara Joy talks about the magic contained in a succession of classic tracks by a cross-section of the greatest vocalists from the 1950s to today.

At 24, Joy is already setting the music world ablaze. Her 2022 Verve Records debut “Linger Awhile” 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. Within two years she was a star student of piano legend Barry Harris and bowled over a panel including Christian McBride, Jane Monheit, and Dee Dee Bridgewater to win the 2021 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition.

Since then, she’s performed sold-out shows all over the world while racking up millions of Tik Tok views and multiple appearances on late night television that have made her a “classic jazz singer from a new generation” (NPR Music).

Track Listings:
John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman: “Lush Life” from “John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman” (1963)
Dee Dee Bridgewater: “Afro Blue” from “Afro Blue” (1974)
Billie Holiday: “Solitude” from “Lover Man” (1958)
Nancy Wilson and Cannonball Adderley: “Save Your Love for Me” from “Nancy Wilson/Cannonball Adderley” (1962)
Betty Carter: “Open the Door” from “Inside Betty Carter” (1964)
Lambert, Hendricks and Bavan: “Yeh Yeh!” from “Live at Newport ‘63” (1963)
Ella Fitzgerald: “I’m Just a Lucky So and So” from “Sings the Duke Ellington Songbook” (1957)

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***SFJAZZ is a non-profit organization that presents year round jazz concerts, festivals and educational programs at the SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco, CA.