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About this clip:

GRAMMY-winning jazz vocalist Samara Joy performs her original composition “Sweet Pumpkin” from her 2022 album “Linger Awhile” during her performance on June 16 as part of the 40th San Francisco Jazz Festival, broadcast on Fridays Live.

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About the concert:

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.
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, Joy’s profile has risen exponentially through the release of her self-titled debut in 2021 and winning Best New Artist in 2021’s JazzTimes Critics Poll. She has introduced legions of young fans to the Great American Songbook through her TikTok account and released the GRAMMY-winning “Linger Awhile” for Verve in 2022.
It’s not an accident that Joy was signed to Verve Records — the label built specifically around Ella Fitzgerald — since the young singer is clearly on the path to continue the tradition of the First Lady of Song and conquer new worlds along the way.

PERSONNEL:

Samara Joy: vocals
Jason Charos: trumpet
David Mason: alto saxophone
Kendric McCallister: tenor saxophone
Donavan Austin: trombone
Luther Allison: piano
Michael Migliore: bass
Evan Sherman: drums

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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.