Samara Joy returns with her third album, “Portrait,” which was released on Friday.
It’s her follow-up to her second album “Linger Awhile,” which won the 2023 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album.
Joy, 24, was born in the Bronx and attended SUNY Purchase’s jazz program to study voice. She acknowledged that the past couple of years have been overwhelming at times.
“I wasn't expecting any of this,” she said. “It wasn't like, 'OK, I have a plan. I'm going to go to jazz school. I'm going to graduate, and I'm going to become a star.'”
And her new career had a learning curve, she said.
“I wasn't sure at one point how to handle and adapt to it all,” she said of being on her own and away from her parents. Joy’s solution was to lean into her work.
“I was staying focused on music, on growing as an artist and a musician, and surrounding myself with people I want to collaborate with, my peers specifically, on this record,” she said.
In her latest album, she’s performing for the first time with a whole brass section, which she said has expanded her range.
Joy spoke to WNYC’s Alison Stewart on a recent episode of “All of It” about fashion, SUNY Purchase and more. Below is an edited version of their conversation.
Alison Stewart: Given the album's name, “Portrait,” what kind of portrait are you presenting to us?
Samara Joy: Hopefully one of growth, exploration and experimentation. A lot has happened in my life, obviously over the course of the past couple of years.
Yes, a little bit.
A little pressure to go this direction or that direction, but I was staying focused on music, on growing as an artist and a musician, and surrounding myself with people I want to collaborate with, my peers specifically, on this record.
What was a risk that you took on this album?
I think the biggest risk overall was trusting myself to creative direct, so to speak, because I think in past recording experiences – I only have two albums outside of this one – and those were my only recording studio experiences. I really was like, "OK, this is the repertoire I'm comfortable with. I'll let the decisions be made about what to use this for, what the single is, and all this stuff."
With this one, I really wanted to take the risk and trust myself – not only to present this project, as scary as it was – for some people to be like, "Oh, my gosh, this is totally different from 'Linger a While.'" Different orchestration, different band, all this stuff. I wanted to take the risk and be like, "People will appreciate it."
I feel like nothing becomes a hit when you play it once. We have to introduce and put things into the fold and allow people to get acclimated to the sound of this new project and of new things in general in order for it to then become something maybe standard or something that's just commonplace.
Having the courage to say, "This is the band I want to work with. These are the team of all-stars, in my opinion, the right people for the job, the right chemistry. The people that I know are going to put ego aside and put their all into this band, into cultivating a sound for this band that is unique." Choosing the producer, choosing co-producers, choosing the studio, choosing album cover, choosing videographer for the studio. I wanted my hand in everything. Choosing the lead single, choosing the follow-up single, when it would even be released, all of that stuff. I feel like the biggest risk was on myself and being confident enough to really step up.
Before we listened to it, where did you get the idea to write the song "Peace of Mind?"
It developed pretty slowly. At first, I just had the melody. I was sitting at the piano one day, and I was tinkering around, and I was like, "I like this. I like this motif. I'm going to try to develop it more and see what comes of it." Started writing lyrics, and I realized that I wanted it to be my first original song and contribution to this project in particular. Usually when I'm on stage, I don't talk about the overwhelming side of all that's happened in my life, because I wasn't expecting any of this.
It wasn't like, "OK, I have a plan. I'm going to go to jazz school. I'm going to graduate, and I'm going to become a star."
"I'll be walking up at the Grammys at 23."
Nothing of this was in the cards. It was a pretty overwhelming transition. I wasn't sure at one point how to handle and adapt to it all, adapt to this new lifestyle of being away from my parents and really being on my own. I had people around me. I have a team, have the band members and stuff, but really, it was a weird isolation because it's not like I'm going out on tour with somebody else as a background singer or I'm shadowing somebody. It was me from the beginning.
You got launched out of a cannon.
Yes. It was a very overwhelming transition. This song is the first time I've ever actually detailed what it feels like to have to make all of these decisions and choose which path to go down, especially when there are other people projecting what they want for you to do or what they see for you doing, and you have to defend yourself and be like, "Do they know more because they're experienced, or do I know more about myself than anybody and what I want to represent, how I want to sing, and what I want to sing?" The song is posed as a question.
Fans have seen you live. Know your little bossa nova might make it into the set. You might speak a little Portuguese. Our producer Luke said he's heard you do that twice.
I have. Oh, gosh. I'm from the Bronx, so you know it has a little Boogie Down something on it. [laughter]
How many dates a year do you tour?
This year is a little bit lighter, but I would say close to probably 150 to 200 dates.
That's got to be exhausting for you.
So crazy.
How do you take care of your voice?
I am definitely increasing my water intake more than I did while I was in college, for sure. I'm still working on my practice regimen. Take it day by day as far as travel and stuff like that, but warming up, practicing, resting, vocalizing throughout the day, that's usually how I keep it maintained.
The other issue I want to talk about is fashion. May we please? We have to shout out your stylist–
Oh, yes.
Kelly Augustine. How important is fashion, how you look when you're on stage? It does seem to be a thing.
I don't want to say it's a shock to me, but I'm more aware of it now than I feel like I was. Just looking at other artists and celebrities, how they dress and how important that is for their brand and for making sure they're put together. I've worked with this wonderful stylist named Carlton Jones for a while. My first "Today Show" look, I remember doing my first fitting with him, and it was just like, "Oh, my gosh, this really is important."
Last night with Kelly Augustine, last night, we played the Greene Space downstairs [New York Public Radio’s performing arts venue], and I wore this gown and I was like, "Should I wear a gown? I don't know. Is that appropriate?" It ended up being so fitting for the evening. It's really been important choosing the right clothes for each context and not just being like, "I'll just dig in my closet and try to find something." No. Having looks planned out in advance saves a lot of hassle.
Does it put you in the right mindset to be dressed a certain way?
If the dress doesn't do it, the heels certainly do. They remind you, "You're at work, you are here to do your job."
You're returning to SUNY Purchase for a concert on Nov. 9. It's where you graduated from. Why is it important for you to go back to your roots?
I would say if I hadn't gone to SUNY Purchase, I wouldn't be doing this right now. I was introduced to jazz towards the end of high school, but I feel like I wasn't really interested or immersed in it until I got to SUNY Purchase. The professors there – Pete Malinverni, Jon Faddis, Kenny Washington, Gary Smulyan, Ralph Lalama, all of these people who have a significant place in the jazz community – and they're available resources at the school. I learned so much.
I got there just hoping to be the best student I could be, and I ended up falling in love with this music. I have them to thank and my peers – who I met in school and now still collaborate with to this day – for being an inspiration to me, for showing me so much new music. I'm born and raised in New York City, and I hadn't been to a jazz club until I got to college. It was like this whole underground world of music that I had never listened to before. I'm grateful that they saw the potential and saw that I was willing to work and to listen and to learn. Now I get the chance to thank them and go back.
