Samara Joy
An Evening with Samara Joy
Segerstrom Center for the Arts
600 Town Center Dr
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
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About this concert
“A classic jazz singer for a new generation.” –NPR
Since making her Center debut with sold-out performances that completely wowed our audience (as the Jazz Club Discovery Artist of the 22/23 Season), Samara Joy’s fortunes and fame have only continued to rise and rise!
Her first full-length album, Linger Awhile, became a critical smash and earned Joy an incredible two 2023 Grammy Awards including Best Jazz Vocal Album and Best New Artist. She followed that up with another Grammy Award for Best Jazz Performance at this year’s ceremony.
While not winning awards, she also toured the world extensively, with her smooth vocals, deeply emotive music, and genuine warmth earning a legion of adoring fans (like Anita Baker and Regina Taylor) and introducing jazz music to a whole new generation of fans! With millions of likes on TikTok, Samara has cemented her status as the first Gen Z jazz singing star.
At just 24 years old, Samara is a once-in-a-generation vocalist who has already garnered critical acclaim for a voice The New York Times calls “as rich as custard” and a delivery that is “disarming [and] unhurried (NPR Fresh Air).”
We could not be more thrilled to welcome this young songbird back to our campus, this time performing in the gorgeous Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall.
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What fans are saying
Ursula
May 20th 2024
Totally in awe and admiration 😍
I’ve discovered @samarajoysings thanks to Spotify’s algorithm in 2021 when she released her first recording of ‘Everything Happens to Me’. I instantly fell in love with her voice and rendition. I eagerly waited for her first album release. I’m a fan since !! October 2022 she came to a bursting and over crowded @newmorningparis , where she blew my mind and sang live even beyond my expectations 😍.
Last night I saw a 24 year old young woman of exceptional talent and professionalism singing 2 1/2 hours for the first time to a sold out Olympia in Paris. Ella, Sarah, Dinah, Billie must be extremely proud of her and Abbey too! The crowd went wild and I cried 🥲 … tears of joy and so much bursting emotion ❤️🔥.
A big Kudos to her band too : Evan Sherman (drums), Connor Rohrer (piano), Michael Migliore (bass), Jason Charos (trumpet), David Mason (alto sax), Kendrick McCallister (tenor sax) and Donavan Austin (trombone).
Samara Joy McLendon (born November 11, 1999) is an American jazz singer. She released her self-titled debut album in 2021 and was subsequently named Best New Artist by JazzTimes. Her second album, Linger Awhile(2022), reached number one on the BillboardJazz Albums chart. At the 2023 Grammy Awards, she won the awards for Best Jazz Vocal Album and Best New Artist. Her 2023 single “Tight” won Best Jazz Performance at the following ceremony. .
My clips don’t really do justice of the magnificent performance I’ve witnessed, I was too busy watching, listening and crying 🥲😁 … but I urge you to go and witness awesomeness if she travels near you … !!!!
Paris, France@L’Olympia
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About the venue
At Segerstrom Center for the Arts, you’re in the company of world-celebrated artists, experiencing the most acclaimed, sought-after performances. We bring you a diverse l...
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Samara Joy Biography
With her Verve Records debut, Linger Awhile, 23-year-old Samara Joy makes her case to join the likes of Sarah, Ella, and Billie as the next mononymous jazz singing sensation recorded by the venerable label. Her voice, rich and velvety yet precociously refined, has already earned her fans like Anita Baker and Regina King, appearances on the TODAY Show and millions of likes on TikTok — cementing her status as perhaps the first Gen Z jazz singing star. On Linger Awhile, Samara will introduce that massive audience to a slew of classic standards several times older than she is through her timeless, irresistible sound.
Samara is still relatively new to jazz. Growing up in the Bronx, it was other music of the past — the music of her parent’s childhoods, as she put it — that she listened to most. She treasures her musical lineage, which stretches back to her grandparents Elder Goldwire and Ruth McLendon, both of whom performed with Philadelphia gospel group the Savettes, and runs through her father, who is a singer, songwriter and producer who toured with gospel artist Andraé Crouch. Eventually, she did follow in the family tradition, singing in church and then with the jazz band at Fordham High School for the Arts, with whom she won Best Vocalist at JALC’s Essentially Ellington competition. That led to her enrolling in SUNY Purchase’s jazz studies program, where she fell deeply in love with the music.
Read MoreSamara is still relatively new to jazz. Growing up in the Bronx, it was other music of the past — the music of her parent’s childhoods, as she put it — that she listened to most. She treasures her musical lineage, which stretches back to her grandparents Elder Goldwire and Ruth McLendon, both of whom performed with Philadelphia gospel group the Savettes, and runs through her father, who is a singer, songwriter and producer who toured with gospel artist Andraé Crouch. Eventually, she did follow in the family tradition, singing in church and then with the jazz band at Fordham High School for the Arts, with whom she won Best Vocalist at JALC’s Essentially Ellington competition. That led to her enrolling in SUNY Purchase’s jazz studies program, where she fell deeply in love with the music.
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