Program Book - Samara Joy

N INET Y-THI R D SEASON Friday, October 27, 2023, at 8:00

Jazz Series SAMARA JOY Samara Joy Vocals Cameron Campbell Piano Michael Migliore Bass Evan Sherman Drums David Mason Alto Saxophone Kendric McCallister Tenor Saxophone Jason Charos Trumpet Donavan Austin Trombone The program will be announced from the stage.

There will be no intermission.

Please join us for a postconcert CD signing with Samara Joy in the First Floor Rotunda.

Merchandise will be available for purchase in the Orchestra Hall lobby before, during, and after this evening’s performance.

Funding for educational programs during the 2023–24 Season of SCP Jazz has been generously provided by Dan J. Epstein, Judith Guitelman, and the Dan J. Epstein Family Foundation. The CSOA thanks the Epstein Family Foundation for ten consecutive years of generous, innovative support for the SCP Jazz Education program.

DownBeat magazine, WDCB, and WBEZ Chicago are media partners for this program.

Samara Joy Vocals With her Grammy Award–winning and chart-topping album Linger Awhile, twentythree-year-old Samara Joy makes her case to join the likes of Sarah, Ella, and Billie as the next jazz singing sensation recorded by the venerable Verve Records. Her voice, rich and velvety yet precociously refined, has already earned her fans like Anita Baker and Regina King and appearances on the Today Show, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, CBS Mornings, The Kelly Clarkson Show, The Jennifer Hudson Show, and more, in addition to millions of likes on TikTok. In February 2023, Samara Joy took home two Grammy awards—for Best Jazz Vocal Album and the auspicious Best New Artist Award.

Joy grew up in the Bronx, listening mostly to the music of her parents’ childhoods—the music of the past, as she puts it. Her grandparents Elder Goldwire and Ruth McLendon performed with the Philadelphia gospel group the Savettes, and her father, a singer, songwriter, and producer, toured with gospel artist Andraé Crouch.

Treasuring her musical lineage, she followed the family tradition, singing in church and later with the jazz band at Fordham High School for the Arts, winning Best Vocalist at JALC’s Essentially Ellington Competition.

On Linger Awhile, produced by Matt Pierson and recorded by Chris Allen at Sear Sound in New York City, Samara Joy is accompanied by her former P H OTO S BY M E R E D I T H T R A U X , A U ST I N Z H A N G

professors, guitarist Pasquale Grasso and drummer Kenny Washington, who form the core of the band along with bassist David Wong and pianist Ben Paterson.

Her album showcases the jazz technique vocalese, a concept that will likely be foreign to Joy’s TikTok following.

“Nostalgia (The Day I Knew)” was the product of a jazz transcription class she took with trumpet master Jon Faddis at SUNY Purchase, in which she took down Fats Navarro’s solo from the original 1947 recording and wrote her own lyrics to that melody. She went through the same process with “I’m Confessin,” combining the song’s original lyrics with her own, set to Lester Young’s 1952 solo.

Also included on Linger Awhile is “Social Call,” co-written by Gigi Gryce and vocalese pioneer Jon Hendricks.

Joy has spent the past several months touring all over the world on increasingly larger stages, still shocked to be performing in front of thousands. “I’m still very much a student, even though I’ve graduated,” Joy says. “So, this is only the beginning. . . . There is much, much more to come.”

Cameron Campbell Piano Cameron Campbell is a pianist, composer, and producer from Worcester, Massachusetts. His focus is on jazz, avant-garde, and electronic music. He performs solo, trio, and with his quartet, drawing repertoire from his over fifty original compositions. In 2019 he was a

featured performer alongside legendary pianists George Cables, Joanne Brackeen, and Kenny Werner. Most recently, Campbell toured the United States, Japan, and Brazil with two-time Grammy-winning vocalist Samara Joy and appeared with her on The Tamron Hall Show and TV Asaichi (Japan). In addition to touring with Joy, Campbell has had the privilege of sharing the stage with Kendrick Scott, Jaleel Shaw, Maurice Brown, and Marcus Gilmore.

He has performed at venues throughout America and the world, including the Hollywood Bowl, Blue Note Place (Tokyo), Ibirapuera Auditorium (São Paulo), Vivo Rio (Rio de Janeiro), SF Jazz Center, Deer Head Inn, Smalls Jazz Club, and Django.

Michael Migliore Bass Jazz bassist Michael Migliore was born and raised in Westchester, New York, and currently resides in Harlem. While attending Purchase Conservatory of Music and Manhattan School of Music, he studied with legends Buster Williams, Ron Carter, and Todd Coolman. Coming from a musical family, he found his love for all types of music at a young age.

Living in New York, he finds himself working in bands led by Jon Faddis, Joe Farnsworth, Pete Malinverni, Mike Ledonne, Gary Smulyan, and many others. Currently, he is on tour with Grammy winner Samara Joy.

Evan Sherman Drums Evan Sherman has toured five continents as the drummer for musical icons such as Ron Carter, Branford and Wynton Marsalis, Roy Hargrove, Jimmy Heath, Cyrus Chestnut, and the Dizzy Gillespie All-Stars.

In 2014 he founded the Evan Sherman Big Band, headlining at top New York City venues like Jazz at Lincoln Center, Birdland, Blue Note, Caramoor, and Perth International Arts Fest in Australia. In 2020 he was featured on the Today Show for keeping jazz alive on the streets of New York during the pandemic and producing his debut quintet album, Sidewalkin.

In 2022 Sherman began touring with Grammy-winning vocalist Samara Joy, appearing on various TV programs.

David Mason Alto Saxophone American saxophonist and composer David Mason aims to portray music in the most authentic and genuine form, from inevitable melodies to the orchestration of humanistic gesturing throughout unique sonic landscapes. His debut single, Balance, was recorded and released in early 2023, receiving rave reviews.

Mason tours with and writes for Grammy Award–winning artist Samara Joy. He has recorded for other Grammy

P H OTO S C O U R T E SY O F T H E A R T I ST, M A D E LY N A M A C H E R , J A M E S E VA N S

Award–winning artists like John Daversa and Jimmy Haslip and performed at venues including the Hollywood Bowl, SF Jazz, GroundUp Music Festival, and Keystone Korner.

Kendric McCallister Tenor Saxophone Kendric McCallister is a SUNY Purchase College graduate and Grammy Award– winning saxophonist and arranger. Born in St. Petersburg, Florida, he began playing the saxophone at age nine and was introduced to jazz music shortly after. Throughout his musical career, he has played with many great musicians, including Roy Hargrove, Jon Faddis, Barry Harris, Kenny Washington, George Coleman, Chick Corea, and others. Currently, he is causing a storm on the New York circuit, furthering his study as a musician and composer along the never-ending world of music.

Jason Charos Trumpet Jason Charos is a jazz trumpeter based in New York City. His career highlights include recording in the trumpet section on the Grammy Award–winning album The Omni-American Book Club by the Brian Lynch Big Band and touring with

and arranging for Grammy Award– winning artist Samara Joy. Charos can be heard on her single “Lush Life” on Amazon Music. Other accolades include winning second place in the 2019 National Trumpet Competition, Jazz Division and the Laurie Frink Career Grant in 2022. In March 2022, Charos recorded his debut album, comprised entirely of original music. It was produced by Brian Lynch and will be released on his label, Hollistic MusicWorks, by the end of 2023. The album features performances by Lynch, Dafnis Prieto, and Melvin Butler.

Donavan Austin Trombone Donavan Austin is a trombonist, composer, arranger, and educator who appreciates the tradition of jazz and is dedicated to keeping it alive.

Originally from Pennsylvania, Donavan quickly and fluidly began to make his mark on the New York City jazz scene, playing with countless artists across the metropolitan area. With many musical projects coming to the bandstand down the line, the world should expect to see him take the music scene by storm.

P H OTO S BY D E N E E N W R I G H T, R YA N C H A P M A N , S E B A ST I A N B A S S