(Reprinted from the September 2022 issue of New York City Jazz Record)
This month Samara Joy makes her Verve Records debut with Linger Awhile, joining the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, Shirley Horn, and Abbey Lincoln on the label’s distinguished roster of singers. Verve represents other great jazz vocalists, too—Diana Krall, Harry Connick Jr., Seth MacFarlane, Jon Batiste. But as a singer, Samara keeps to tradition more than these popular Verve voices do, favoring fluid scats and subtle phrasings that belie her 22 years. Notably, Samara only started singing jazz six years ago. Then, three years in, she took first place at the Sarah Vaughan Vocal Competition while still a vocal jazz student at SUNY Purchase. Remarkable.
One of the prizes for that year’s win was a slot at the prestigious Newport Jazz Festival in 2020, the year that the pandemic leveled all concerts everywhere. Rescheduled for this year’s Festival, Samara displayed a newfound sophistication at that auspicious career benchmark; despite any pandemic setbacks, she’s been developing rapidly as a performer these last three years. She now boasts an impressively wide listener base that reaches from TikTok to The Morning Show to global stages.
The new album, out as of Sept. 16, follows quickly after her first release last year, Samara Joy (Whirlwind). As with that album, Samara digs into the Songbook on Linger Awhile, though with a more discerning eye for the unfamiliar, such as Ronnell Bright’s “Sweet Pumpkin” and Frank Loesser’s “Can’t Get Out Of This Mood”. The album’s pre-release promo includes music videos for these two titles—quick introductions to Samara’s irresistible way with a tune. But to hear her live, visit Blue Note on Sept 12 or 26, the New York dates for her international tour this fall.
The recently formed trio SONICA—singer/instrumentalists Julia Adamy, Thana Alexa and Nicole Zuraitis—offer uplift and encouragement on their eponymous premier album. Fully engineered by Alexa, Sonica (Outside In Music) comprises seven tracks written or arranged either by individual members or in group cooperation. In this effort, the three artists integrate intriguing sonic effects, rhythmic feels and several musical languages; the through-line is expert lead vocals and tight, tripartite choral sections. Note Alexa’s gospel turns on Adamy’s arrangement of “Love’s In Need Of Love Today”, Zuraitis’ mournful lyrics on her original, “Come A Long Way” and the impactful fusion of voiced beats, soaring harmonies, electronica and spoken word (from abolitionist Sojourner Truth’s 1851 speech “Ain’t I A Woman”) on the album’s showpiece, “Doyenne”. The associated video for this tune—featuring three young dancers in improvised movement—drives home the message of female empowerment through positive collaboration.
SONICA’s “Doyenne” also appears on Warner Music’s SHIFT (Bad Hombre Vol. II), drummer Antonio Sánchez’s sequel to his Grammy-nominated album Bad Hombre (CAM Jazz). Sánchez, who is married to Alexa, also sings on his new album—in addition to playing drums, guitar, bass, mandolin and oud. The multi-faceted composer, with no shortage of talent at his disposal, also pulled several prominent co-creators into the project, among them Dave Matthews, Pat Metheny, and Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. But the compositional focus of the album, according to Sánchez, is the equal weighting of vocals and drums. To facilitate this end he invited several other singer-songwriters from around the world to contribute, including Meshell Ndegeocello, Lila Downs, Kimbra, Ana Tijoux, Becca Stevens, Silvana Estrada and MARO. You can hear how he strikes this balance in the pre-launch video for the rock track “I Think We’re Past That Now”, with Reznor and Ross—a declaration of freedom from social oppression and a strong corollary to Sánchez’s earlier work.
Beyond the studio: Basking in the success of her Nonesuch debut, Ghost Song, earlier this year, Cecile McLorin Salvant will play Blue Note Sept 20-25. Catherine Russell, celebrating her April 2022 release on Dot Time Records, Send For Me, headlines at JALC-Dizzy's on Sept. 29-Oct. 2. And The Jazz Journalists Association will honor its 2022 award winners with an online interactive “JazzBash” on Sept 11; singers Sheila Jordan, Kurt Elling and the trio Duchess have all accepted the JJA’s invite to appear at the virtual event.
Vocal PSA: The deadline for the 11th Annual Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Competition is Sept 6. Up-and-coming jazz singers with a penchant for scatting can submit through the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) website. This month Samara Joy makes her Verve Records debut with Linger Awhile, joining the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, Shirley Horn, and Abbey Lincoln on the label’s distinguished roster of singers. Verve represents other great jazz vocalists, too—Diana Krall, Harry Connick Jr., Seth MacFarlane, Jon Batiste. But as a singer, Samara keeps to tradition more than these popular Verve voices do, favoring fluid scats and subtle phrasings that belie her 22 years. Notably, Samara only started singing jazz six years ago. Then, three years in, she took first place at the Sarah Vaughan Vocal Competition while still a vocal jazz student at SUNY Purchase. Remarkable.
One of the prizes for that year’s win was a slot at the prestigious Newport Jazz Festival in 2020, the year that the pandemic leveled all concerts everywhere. Rescheduled for this year’s Festival, Samara displayed a newfound sophistication as she crossed that auspicious career benchmark; despite any pandemic setbacks, she’s been developing rapidly as a performer these last three years. She now boasts an impressively wide listener base that reaches from TikTok to The Morning Show to global stages.
The new album, out as of Sept. 16, follows quickly after her first release last year, Samara Joy (Whirlwind). As with that album, Samara digs into the Songbook on Linger Awhile, though with a more discerning eye for the unfamiliar, such as Ronnell Bright’s “Sweet Pumpkin” and Frank Loesser’s “Can’t Get Out Of This Mood”. The album’s pre-release promo includes music videos for these two titles—quick introductions to Samara’s irresistible way with a tune. But to hear her live, visit Blue Note on Sept 12 or 26, the New York dates for her international tour this fall.
The recently formed trio SONICA—singer/instrumentalists Julia Adamy, Thana Alexa and Nicole Zuraitis—offer uplift and encouragement on their eponymous premier album. Fully engineered by Alexa, Sonica (Outside In Music) comprises seven tracks written or arranged either by individual members or in group cooperation. In this effort, the three artists integrate intriguing sonic effects, rhythmic feels and several musical languages; the through-line is expert lead vocals and tight, tripartite choral sections. Note Alexa’s gospel turns on Adamy’s arrangement of “Love’s In Need Of Love Today”, Zuraitis’ mournful lyrics on her original, “Come A Long Way” and the impactful fusion of voiced beats, soaring harmonies, electronica and spoken word (from abolitionist Sojourner Truth’s 1851 speech “Ain’t I A Woman”) on the album’s showpiece, “Doyenne”. The associated video for this tune—featuring three young dancers in improvised movement—drives home the message of female empowerment through positive collaboration.
SONICA’s “Doyenne” also appears on Warner Music’s SHIFT (Bad Hombre Vol. II), drummer Antonio Sánchez’s sequel to his Grammy-nominated album Bad Hombre (CAM Jazz). Sánchez, who is married to Alexa, also sings on his new album—in addition to playing drums, guitar, bass, mandolin and oud. The multi-faceted composer, with no shortage of talent at his disposal, also pulled several prominent co-creators into the project, among them Dave Matthews, Pat Metheny, and Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. But the compositional focus of the album, according to Sánchez, is the equal weighting of vocals and drums. To facilitate this end he invited several other singer-songwriters from around the world to contribute, including Meshell Ndegeocello, Lila Downs, Kimbra, Ana Tijoux, Becca Stevens, Silvana Estrada and MARO. You can hear how he strikes this balance in the pre-launch video for the rock track “I Think We’re Past That Now”, with Reznor and Ross—a declaration of freedom from social oppression and a strong corollary to Sánchez’s earlier work.
Beyond the studio: Basking in the success of her Nonesuch debut, Ghost Song, earlier this year, Cecile McLorin Salvant will play Blue Note Sept 20-25. Catherine Russell, celebrating her April 2022 release on Dot Time Records, Send For Me, headlines at JALC-Dizzy's on Sept. 29-Oct. 2. And The Jazz Journalists Association will honor its 2022 award winners with an online interactive “JazzBash” on Sept 11; singers Sheila Jordan, Kurt Elling and the trio Duchess have all accepted the JJA’s invite to appear at the virtual event.
Vocal PSA: The deadline for the 11th Annual Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Competition is Sept 6. Up-and-coming jazz singers with a penchant for scatting can submit through the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) website.