Samara Joy covers the Betty Carter song "Tight" live in concert before a sold-out crowd at SFJazz in San Francisco, California on June 16, 2023. Tight appeared on The Betty Carter Album (1976) and on the live album The Audience With Betty Carter (1980), recorded at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. Joy went on to release her cover as a single in September 2023; it was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Performance.
Samara Joy McLendon is a 23-year-old Grammy Award winning jazz singer from the Bronx, New York. She won the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition in 2019. As the winner of the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2023, she became only the second jazz singer to ever do so (the first being Esperanza Spalding). Joining her onstage were Jason Charos (trumpet), David Mason (alto saxophone), Kendric McCallister (tenor saxophone), Donavan Austin (trombone), Cameron Campbell (piano), Michael Migliore (bass), and Evan Sherman (drums). To buy her music and merch, visit www.samarajoy.com and click on Shop.
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Samara Joy live tour dates (2023):
July 2 - Montréal, Canada @ Monument-National
July 7 - Funchal, Portugal @ Funchal Jazz Festival
July 9 - Rotterdam, Netherlands @ North Sea Jazz Festival
July 10 - Juan-les-Pins, France @ Jazz à Juan
July 13 - Vienne, France @ Jazz à Vienne
July 14 - Valletta, Malta @ Malta Jazz Festival
July 16 - Perugia, Italy @ Umbria Jazz Festival
July 18 - Molde, Norway @ Molde International Jazz Festival
July 20 - Santander, Spain @ Festival de Jazz de Santander
July 21 - San Javier, Spain @ Auditorio Municipal Parque Almansa
July 22 - Stuttgart, Germany @ Schlossplatz
July 24 - Montpelier, France @ Amphithéâtre du Domaine d'O
July 25 - Marseille, France @ Jardins du Palais Longchamp
July 27 - Marciac, France @ Chapiteau
Aug. 4 - Katonah, NY @ Caramoor Center For Music And The Arts
Aug. 6 - Newport, Rhode Island @ Newport Jazz Festival
Aug. 31 - Provincetown, MA @ Provincetown Town Hall
Sept. 3 - Washington DC @ DC Jazz Festival
Sept. 4 - Detroit, MI @ Detroit Jazz Festival
Sept. 12 - Montlouis-sur-Loire, France @ Festival Jazz en Touraine
Sept. 15 - Eisenstadt, Austria @ Haydn Theatre
Sept. 21 - Tempe, AZ @ Tempe Center For The Arts
Sept. 23 - Long Beach, CA @ Carpenter Performing Arts Center
Sept. 24 - Monterey, CA @ Monterey Jazz Festival
Sept. 28 - Seattle, WA @ Jazz Alley
Oct. 4 - Davis, CA @ Mondavi Center
Oct. 15 - Denver, CO @ Newman Center
Oct. 22 - Brookville, NY @ Tilles Center
Oct. 24 - Columbia, MO @ Missouri Theatre
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Tight lyrics:
I don't know where my man is now
I've been looking, and looking, and looking
Where can he be? What is he doing?
I've been searching, and searching, and searching
I've been all over town looking
Hoping that he can be found
I'm on the loose, and I don't dig it
No, no, no, no, no, no
Take my advice, if you find a man, girl
I was looking for a lovely man, tight
Don't let him, don't let him, don't let him, don't let him
Hold on to him tight
I don't know where my man is now
I've been looking
Where can he be? What is he doing?
I've been searching
Lookin' all over town looking
Oh, hoping that he can be found
I'm on the loose, and I don't dig it
No, no, no, no, no, no
Take my advice, if you find a man, girl
I was looking for a lovely man, tight
Don't let him, don't let him, don't let him, don't let him
Hold on to him tight
Don't let him, don't let him, don't let him, don't let him
Hold on to him tight
Don't let him go, no, no
Don't let him go, don't let him go
Hold on to him tight
Written by Betty Carter
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Samara Joy - SFJazz official show announcement:
At 23, Samara Joy is already setting the music world ablaze. Her 2022 Verve Records debut Linger Awhile has earned her two well-deserved Grammy wins, for Best Jazz Vocal Album and Best New Artist - the first time a jazz musician has won the prestigious newcomer’s award since Esperanza Spalding over a decade ago.
Hailing from a family of musicians in the Bronx with roots in gospel, Joy began her journey with jazz at age 17, winning Best Vocalist honors at Lincoln Center’s “Essentially Ellington” competition.
Within two years she was a star student of piano legend Barry Harris and bowled over a panel including Christian McBride, Jane Monheit, and Dee Dee Bridgewater to win the 2021 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition.
Since then, Joy’s profile has risen exponentially through the release of her self-titled debut in 2021 and winning Best New Artist in 2021’s JazzTimes Critics Poll. She has introduced legions of young fans to the Great American Songbook through her TikTok account and released the Grammy-winning Linger Awhile in 2022.
It’s not an accident that Joy was signed to Verve Records - the label built specifically around Ella Fitzgerald - since the young singer is clearly on the path to continue the tradition of the First Lady of Song and conquer new worlds along the way.