With plans derailed and now faced with the social unrest sparked by the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, SJ struggled to stay inspired. "Making music that spreads joy is a form of resistance in the face of darkness. The day before we were supposed to play, everything got canceled.” I had just won the Sarah Vaughan competition in 2019 and was embarking on a residency at Dizzy’s Jazz Club at Lincoln Center. “Right before the pandemic hit, things were really starting to take off. The ingenue’s dream collab? “I keep hearing Lalah Hathaway on a lot of Kendrick Lamar songs, so if Kendrick were to call me or my people and be like, ‘we need you to sing something on this,’ I'm totally there.” With a steady stream of tour dates on the horizon, Joy seems to be hitting her stride after a challenging 18 months. I take a melody that is written in a certain way, and I want to tell the composer’s story, so I sing it the way the composer wrote it, but then I make it my own.” With a voice as smooth as velvet, her signature sound is one for the ages. When asked if she identifies with being labeled a jazz singer, Samara Joy says “I grew up listening to Stevie Wonder, Luther Vandross, Chaka Khan and gospel singers like Kim Burrell, so I think right now I would probably classify myself as an interpreter or stylist. SJ’s renditions fit in comfortably with only the most iconic versions which precede her. The standards on her album have been covered by music royalty the likes of Aretha Franklin, Sara Vaughan, and Billie Holiday.
“I was always a bit of a loner,” she says, “But with this music, I found a sense of belonging.” My personal fave is the songstress’ take on Jim, a sublimely rocking muse on commitment and unrequited love. From the dizzying opener Stardust, to the wistful and heartbreaking But Beautiful, the emotion is palpable quickly we see that this is no ordinary album and no ordinary voice.
Her love and respect for the craft is apparent. My peers were light years ahead of me as far as being passionate about it and knowing various recordings and instrumentalists.” But after immersing herself into the artform, the ingenue would eventually surpass many of her more experienced peers.īacked by the Pasquale Grasso Trio, Samara Joy is a triumphant body of music with a depth and maturity rarely seen in a debut album. I'm born and raised in New York, but I had never been to a jam session before. “Being introduced to this music through school opened my eyes to a whole different community. This is when she decided to focus her studies on the skills of arrangement, and jazz composition. She discovered her extraordinary aptitude in college just a few years ago.
Samara Joy’s debut has interesting origins. Finally, during high school, I joined the choir at my church, eventually becoming a worship leader, singing three services a week for nearly two years. Through musicals in middle school, I loved exploring the range of my voice and applying the different colors to fit the characters I played. “I constantly heard my family singing inspirational music together, which instilled in me an appreciation for my musical lineage. “Your unique journey has its own strengths, mistakes, and detours. “Everybody's journey is unique, so if you try to copy someone step for step, you're only going to get a cheap version of it,” she says in an exclusive sit-down.
One of the biggest lessons SJ has learned along the way is the importance of sticking to her dreams. This family unit strengthens her focus and determination, while helping her navigate the ups and downs of touring and recording. Hailing from a family of musicians, McLendon credits her father for introducing her to everything from jazz greats Betty Carter, and Ella Fitzgerald to the Clark Sisters, Eric Crouch and Kirk Franklin, instilling musical depth at an early age. Those sentiments sum up the SJ experience in a nutshell her voice is a gift in a package that feels familiar, yet, fresh and beautifully timeless. Her name is Samara Joy, and it brings me joy”. This girl looks like she’s about 16 years old - this beautiful, precious baby-and all this power and emotion comes out. Still, somehow we’re not prepared for the amazing treat that awaits on the other side.Īctress/producer/director Regina King said it best in a 2021 Hollywood Reporter directors' roundtable, “I discovered a young woman who seems like Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald are both living in her body. Her wistful grin and skyward gaze suggest that something special is about to happen. This image hints at a piece of the magic that she possesses. The album art which adorns the cover of Samara Joy McLendon’s eponymous debut is a head in the clouds snapshot that features the songstress’ beaming smile.