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Jazz Series

Samara Joy "A Joyful Holiday" Featuring the McLendon Family

December 23, 2024  at 7:00PM

Jazz’s newest star, GRAMMY® Award winner & Samara Joy, returns to Philadelphia following her sold out Miller Theater debut in 2023.

Joined by members of her talented musical family who have shared the influences of gospel, Motown, and jazz across the generations, Samara delivers a sparkling evening brimming with the most time-honored songs of the season. 

At only 24, her voice is wise beyond her years — a reincarnation of Sarah, Ella and Billie, with a special something all her own. She recently won three well-deserved GRAMMY® Awards: Best Jazz Vocal Album for Linger Awhile, Best New Artist of 2023, and Best Jazz Performance. The New York Times praises Samara for “helping jazz take a youthful turn,” while NPR calls her a “classic jazz singer from a new generation.” 

Jazz Series Packages

This show is part of our Jazz Series. Save when you choose two or more shows from our exciting jazz season. 

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A reincarnation of Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald in the same body.

London Jazz News
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Her approach is simple but beautifully poised, and when she does take off on an improvised passage or coda, the trickiest notes present no problem...

The Observer
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A self-possessed, deeply emotive vocalist.

DownBeat Magazine
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Outstanding vocalist...impeccable time, timbral richness and emotional power...Consistently beguiling, this is an album that stays with you long after the last notes fade away.

Jazzwise
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Samara Joy has a voice that seems to have a gravitational pull keeping the planets in orbit.

WGBO
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Joy has an immaculately smooth, perfectly pitched delivery that leans heavily toward tradition but at the same time emits a youthful quality and unique phrasing behind new arrangements of these classic tunes.

Making A Scene

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