Samara Joy

Born in the Bronx, New York, Samara Joy grew up in a family steeped in gospel before turning to jazz while studying at Purchase College, State University of New York. Her voice, shaped as much by religious singing traditions as by listening to Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday, belongs to an acoustic vocal jazz idiom focused on the standard, with supple phrasing, a strong melodic sense and a clear approach to swing and ballads. Samara Joy emerged after winning the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition in 2019, and released her debut album, Samara Joy, in 2021 on Whirlwind Recordings. She followed with Linger Awhile in 2022 on Verve, featuring players such as Pasquale Grasso, Ben Paterson, David Wong and Kenny Washington, and issued Portrait in 2024. She has also sung with Emmet Cohen and taken part in projects with musicians like Julius Rodriguez. Appearing on jazz club and festival stages in the United States and Europe, Samara Joy has in a few years established herself in a register that links the Great American Songbook, gospel inflections, touches of soul and an interpretation rooted in tradition without seeking flashy effects.