February 12, 2026 An Evening With Samara Joy

Knight Concert Hall

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Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County presents

An Evening With Samara Joy

 

Photo courtesy AB+DM.

About the artist

A native of the Bronx, Samara Joy became entranced by classic R&B as a child and cut her teeth as a singer in her church’s gospel choir. While her family history is deeply musical—her grandparents helmed the Philadelphia gospel group the Savettes, and her father, the musician and songwriter Antonio McLendon, has produced, composed and arranged his own astounding original work—Joy didn’t delve into the jazz tradition until college at SUNY Purchase. During her studies there she won the 2019 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition, which introduced her to the larger jazz scene as a rising star to watch. She was heard, by audiences and critics alike, as a masterful interpreter of jazz standards and a rightful heiress of the sound, technique and charisma that defined her jazz heroines including Vaughan, Betty Carter, Abbey Lincoln and Carmen McRae.

Joy released her self-titled debut on the Whirlwind label in 2021, followed a year later by Linger Awhile, her breakout Verve debut, of which Down Beat said, “With this beautiful recording, a silky-voiced star is born.” The album earned Joy a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album in addition to a headlinemaking win for Best New Artist. A deluxe edition of the album was released, as well as the EP A Joyful Holiday, which in 2025 took home Grammys for Best Jazz Vocal Album and Best Jazz Performance.

Joy's most recent Verve album, Portrait, which the artist co produced with Brian Lynch, a veteran trumpeter/bandleader and multiple Grammy winner, showcases the intimate, soulful chemistry she’s developed with her touring band. In 2025, the album earned Joy an NAACP Image Award for Best Jazz Album. This month, it won the Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album. Portrait also spotlights her burgeoning gifts as a lyricist, in ingenious arrangements that meld her thoughtful words with music by Charles Mingus, Sun Ra and her late mentor Barry Harris.

Samara Joy released her most recent album, Portrait, in 2024.

 

A focus on Jazz Roots

Cécile McLorin Salvant headlined a Jazz Roots concert in February 2023. Photo courtesy Daniel Azoulay.

Miami-Dade photographer Daniel Azoulay has been shooting Jazz Roots concerts since the series began nearly 20 years ago. His subjects have included pioneering jazz and blues artists such as Sonny Rollins, B.B. King, Paquito D'Rivera, Patti LaBelle, Dr. John, Al Jarreau, Arturo Sandoval and Cecile McLorin Salvant. Azoulay continues to photograph Jazz Roots performances, including this season's Kind of Blue tribute to Miles Davis in November featuring Ravi Coltrane, Veronica Swift and others.

Azoulay's photos documenting the Adrienne Arsht Center's construction from 2003 to 2006 are currently on display in the Ziff Ballet Opera House and Knight Concert Hall. An exhibition covering two decades of his Arsht performance photos will go on view in the fall. You can read more about Azoulay's work and his long relationship with the Arsht at Arsht Magazine.

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Adrienne Arsht Center

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