Samara Joy

PROGRAM

Selections to be announced from the stage

ARTISTS

Samara Joy, vocals
Luther Allison, keys
Michael Migliore, bass
Evan Sherman, drums

With her Grammy Award winning and chart-topping album debut, Linger Awhile, 23-year-old Samara Joy makes her case to join the likes of Sarah, Ella, and Billie as the next mononymous 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, appearances on the Today Show, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, CBS Mornings, MSNBC, The Kelly Clarkson Show, The Jennifer Hudson Show, The Drew Barrymore Show, etc., in addition to millions of likes on TikTok—cementing her status as perhaps the first Gen Z jazz singing star praised the “silky-voiced rising star” for “helping jazz take a youthful turn” while NPR’s All Things Considered named her a “classic jazz singer from a new generation.” In February 2023, Samara Joy took home two GRAMMYs-Best Jazz Vocal Album and the auspicious Best New Artist award.

Hailing from Charlotte, North Carolina Luther S. Allison is a multi-instrumentalist, specializing in both piano and drum set. He received his Bachelors in Studio Music & Jazz from The University of Tennessee and his Masters in Jazz Studies from Michigan State University. Upon graduation, Allison moved to New York City where he quickly became a regular on the bandstand at some of the city's premiere jazz clubs including Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Jazz Standard, The Blue Note, and the Village Vanguard. He has performed nationally and internationally alongside the likes of Rodney Whitaker, Jazzmeia Horn, The Baylor Project, Samara Joy, Gregory Tardy, Ulysses Owens Jr. and many more. A faculty member of the Brevard Jazz Institute summer camp in North Carolina, Allison has worked as a clinician in Mexico, China, Japan, Switzerland, St. Lucia, and Trinidad & Tobago, along with serving as Director of Percussion and Adjunct Jazz Faculty at The Calhoun School in NYC for several years. Additionally, he band-leads both his trio and sextet featuring originals and arrangements rooted in his influences from R&B, country, and gospel.

Michael Migliore is a jazz bassist residing in Harlem, NY. Born and raised in Westchester, NY, he attended Purchase Conservatory of Music (BA ‘19) and Manhattan School of Music (MM ‘23) where 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. While 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 2x Grammy winner Samara Joy.

Evan Sherman has recorded and toured 5 continents as the drummer for musical icons such as Ron Carter, Branford & Wynton Marsalis, Roy Hargrove, Jimmy Heath, Cyrus Chestnut, the Dizzy Gillespie All-Stars and Samara Joy. Growing up in the New Jersey/New York area, Evan began playing drums at 5 and professionally by age 13. In 2014, he founded the Evan Sherman Big Band, headlining at top NYC venues like Jazz at Lincoln Center, Birdland, Blue Note, Caramoor; as well as Perth International Arts Fest in Australia. Critics have cited Sherman as “a beacon of taste…who, though in his mid-20’s, plays here like an old master” (All About Jazz). In 2020, he was featured on the Today Show for keeping jazz alive on the streets of NYC during the pandemic, and producing his debut quintet album, Sidewalkin’.

Ray Oladapo-Johnson, Executive Director
Gabriel de Guzman, Director of Arts & Chief Curator
Betsey Perlmutter, Curator of Performing Arts

This evening, a photographer will be taking pictures of the performance. And videographers will be filming moments during the performance on behalf of Verve Label Group.

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