Samara Joy
June 10, 2023
Keystone Korner
Baltimore, Maryland
by Maja Rios
Todd Barkan’s Keystone Korner jazz club, Baltimore MD, is celebrating 50 years in business, with many great artists, including Samara Joy, a young jazz vocalist, in her twenties, who I feel is an ” old soul” jazz vocalist (from Bronx , NYC),a vocalist, who sings the essence of ” old school” jazz vocals, that are elegant, traditional, yet all her own. She also has a ” girl- next- door” vibe and patter.
Samara and her seven young band mates: piano, bass, drums, trombone, tenor sax, trumpet, and alto sax, were all great accompanists, who never overpowered the vocals.
Many styles of jazz were represented, including, Jazz Standards( You Stepped Out If A Dream and Guess Who I Saw Today) Bossa Nova( Chega De Saudade and Nica’s Dream) Ballads( Guess Who I Saw Today/ Lately( Stevie Wonder) and Barry Harris, Now or Never, Some band originals, including my favorite, by her trombonist, “A Fool In Love Is Called A Clown”.and Be-bop( Tight by Betty Carter and Nostalgia by Fats Waller( with nice lyrics by Samara).
Samara delivers lyrics with a clarity and wisdom that defy her age, as well as her improvisations of melody, that go from low to high notes with ease, much like a horn player in phrasing. She twists and turns a melody in unexpected ways that seem to be her own way of improvising. She seems pretty humble as well and focused on the music itself, which I love. I think she and her musicians will keep jazz alive in the future! I really enjoyed her!
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