CARTAGENA JAZZ FESTIVAL: Samara Joy en concierto.

In just a few years, Samara Joy has established herself as one of the great voices of contemporary jazz. Raised in the Bronx within a family deeply rooted in gospel music, she discovered jazz while studying at SUNY Purchase, launching a meteoric career that took off after she won the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition in 2019.
Her debut album arrived in 2021, but it was *Linger Awhile* (2022) that propelled her to the forefront of the international jazz scene. That album earned her two Grammy Awards—including Best New Artist—followed by further accolades for *A Joyful Holiday* in 2025. Her latest record, *Portrait*, co-produced with trumpeter Brian Lynch, confirms her artistic maturity and her growing talent as a composer and lyricist.
Heir to the elegance and charisma of icons such as Sarah Vaughan, Betty Carter, Abbey Lincoln, and Carmen McRae, Samara Joy combines extraordinary vocal technique with a unique sensibility for reinterpreting the jazz repertoire. Her warm, deeply expressive voice has made her an essential artist of the new generation of jazz.