A native of the Bronx, Samara Joy is a masterful interpreter of jazz standards and an heiress of the sound, technique and charisma that defined her jazz heroines, who include Sarah Vaughan, Betty Carter, Abbey Lincoln and Carmen McRae. A multiple Grammy Award winner, Joy released her most recent album, Portrait, in 2024. The album spotlights her lyrical gifts in ingenious arrangements that meld her thoughtful words with music by Charles Mingus, Sun Ra and her late mentor Barry Harris.