For Samara Joy, whatever the format, it’s all about making music with others

It’s always thrilling to encounter an old soul in a young body, especially if that old soul is a generational talent like jazz vocalist Samara Joy.

Much has been made of Joy’s age, a mere 26, but that’s only because she has accomplished so much in so little time. In the five years since she graduated from the SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Music near New York City in 2021, the Bronx native has garnered a slightly mind-boggling six Grammys, the latest one in February for Best Jazz Vocal Album for her late 2024 release "Portrait." Before going pro, Joy won the prestigious Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition in 2019.

Ahead of her May 12 concert at Symphony Center, where she’ll perform a set stocked with well- and lesser-known jazz standards — from the likes of Ellington and Strayhorn, Monk and McCallister, Waldron and Holiday — with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Steven Reineke, and her own band, Joy talked about her musical evolution, the meaning of awards and her role in introducing a new generation to a classic genre.

How does singing with an ensemble like the CSO change the way you use your voice?

I would say it changes the volume slightly, because I’m singing ahead of or in front of way more people than I’m normally used to. But I will say it is a lot of fun, because I have to be so attuned to what the orchestra is playing. And not only giving cues, but following their cues, following the cues of my band, of the conductor. And so the over-all experience is a lesson in being aware of your surroundings and being active and knowing exactly where to be spontaneous and where to open up, and also knowing your role. 

It must be a more intense experience than singing with just your band.

It really is. And we don’t really have a whole lot of time to rehearse most times. We played with two orchestras at the beginning of this tour, the Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Both experiences were just so grand, and the arrangements, the orchestrations that my band has written really get everybody involved. The orchestra isn’t just texture behind me, they’re really an active part of the entire evening. I’m learning a lot about being connected to the music while also keeping the audience involved and maybe giving narrative and story behind what each song means to me, so that when they’re listening, they can listen from that perspective.

You’ve talked and written about being influenced by renowned jazz pianist and educator Barry Harris at SUNY Purchase. He was rooted in the bebop tradition. What did you learn from him, and when did you start to diverge creatively and find your own sound?

I think being a part of Barry’s class made me a better listener and made me more interactive. Because I feel like sometimes, I was so worried about how I was singing the melody that I wasn’t listening to whatever substitutions or extensions the pianist was playing, or rhythms that the drummer was playing, or anything the bass player was doing. So being a part of that class guided me toward the music of Tadd Dameron and Fats Navarro and Bird and Dizzy Gillespie.

I was listening to them and the way they interacted with their musicians, the way they wrote and how rhythmic. There was depth that I don’t think I had really delved into yet at that point. So it definitely made me a better leader and a better improviser and a better listener. In musical situations, I’m not just thinking about myself and the words how many things I can do technically. It’s about making music with other people. 

The work has brought you some amazing rewards, including six Grammys now. From a personal and professional perspective, why does that kind of recognition matter? 

I don’t really think about it from day to day, but when it does cross my mind, I’m just reminded that it didn’t happen because of anything I had to conform to or anything I had to give up. I wanted to pursue music because I loved it. My family grew up in it. And I think this whole journey has just kind of been organically following what makes me happy, and also what makes me want to be better.

I consider the awards just a reminder and a motivator that I’m doing the right thing, though I would do it even if I didn’t have them. But it’s a reminder from my peers to keep going in that direction of following what you’re passionate about and doing so with integrity. 

You’re an old soul in a young body who has been called “a classic jazz singer for a new generation.” A lot of people who see you in Chicago and at other venues might be introducing their kids or grandkids to jazz through your music. How do you feel about being a conduit of sorts for younger listeners to discover classic repertoire and singers?

It’s an incredibly humbling position to be in, because I did not grow up listening to jazz and discovered it later than people who grew up with it. I immersed myself in it at college, and it changed my approach to music and my goals as far as how I wanted to sing. And it introduced me to so many different voices in music — not only singers, but instrumentalists and their compositions and the way that they viewed music and changed it.

So it’s amazing to me that after a short time of learning about it and just falling in love with it, I now get to introduce people to a genre that has changed my life and still is pushing me to learn and reach and not get comfortable and settled into where I am now. It’s pretty inspiring to introduce the next generation of listeners to this music that I love.

Not everybody your age has jazz on their Spotify playlist. You’re also connecting with people on TikTok and Instagram. There seems to be an excitement that someone in your generation is pushing this music forward. Do you feel that?

I do feel it, and not only from my audience but from the other musicians and vocalists who are on the scene. I mainly see them in New York, but it’s exciting to see people playing gigs and writing music and singing standards. I started this jam session in Harlem at a restaurant in my neighborhood to sort of see what the scene is like up there.

There’s not as much music in Harlem as there used to be. And every time the jam session happens, which is every Wednesday and Saturday, I’m just amazed. There is a community of people who love it and who want to contribute in their own way and who are inspired by it. So it’s really encouraging for me. I’m grateful to be a part of such an incredible community.