Samara Joy will join the Philadelphia Orchestra for January show
The jazz vocalist, who has strong ties to Philadelphia, counts Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald among her influences.
Samara Joy, the young, widely praised vocalist creating a stir in the jazz world, will join the Philadelphia Orchestra in a one-night-only appearance in January, the orchestra announced Thursday.
Joy, who turned 27 Wednesday, has won six Grammy Awards since her debut album in 2021. She was raised in the Bronx, but her Philadelphia connections run deep. Her grandparents, Ruth McLendon and Elder Goldwire McLendon, were founders in the 1950s of Philadelphia gospel group the Savettes. Her father is Philadelphia-born bassist Antonio McLendon.
Growing up, “we came to Philly like three times a year to visit my grandparents. Just to go to their house in West Philly and hang out all day,” Joy told The Inquirer’s Dan DeLuca.
Samara Joy McLendon (her full name) attended the Fordham High School for the Arts and won best vocalist in a high school competition hosted by Jazz at Lincoln Center. She was a voice major at SUNY Purchase. After releasing her self-titled debut album as she was graduating college, Jazz Times named her Best New Artist in 2021.
Critics have been effusive.
“Joy’s staggering vocal command and the smoky timbre and dazzling range of her voice have earned frequent comparisons to classic jazz vocalists like Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald, as well as another personal favorite, Carmen McRae,” DeLuca wrote in The Inquirer.
The singer has spoken of the influence of Vaughan and Fitzgerald on her artistry.
“This music is my foundation for sure,” she told GRAMMY.com in 2021. “When I want to learn a song and learn how to tell a story, they’re who I go to for perspective.”
The set list for her Philadelphia concert is expected to include Hoagy Carmichael’s “Stardust,” Duke Ellington’s “Sunset and the Mockingbird,” Billy Strayhorn’s “Lush Life,” and “Left Alone” by Billie Holiday and Mal Waldron.
Joy has performed at the Kimmel Center before, but the January show will mark her debut with the orchestra. Andrew Grams will conduct, and the instrumental forces will include Joy’s own band. A performance in May with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra featured standards and original material.
Samara Joy appears with the Philadelphia Orchestra Jan. 5 at 7 p.m. in Marian Anderson Hall, Broad and Spruce Sts. ensembleartsphilly.org, 215-893-1999.
