Living Legend: Samara Joy at The Roundhouse
Image: Nick Haill
On a crisp Spring evening in London, the iconic Camden venue Roundhouse closed its flagship event series - In the Round Festival - with a sensational performance by triple Grammy Award-winning US jazz vocalist, Samara Joy.
In its seventh edition, the renowned concert series celebrated a diverse scope of emerging and established artists across an array of genres, including a sold out opener, ‘The Songs of Joni Mitchell’, featuring Emeli Sandé, Eska, Vashti Bunyan and more. Joe Armon-Jones, Jazz FM and MOBO Awards nominee, and Jlin, Pulitzer Prize nominee, also graced the stage during In The Round.
Jason Charos (trumpet); Donavan Austin (trombone); David Mason (alto sax); Kendric McCallister (tenor sax); Connor Rohrer (piano); Felix Moseholm (bass); Evan Sherman (drums). Image: Nick Haill
For the festival’s closing night, the annual concert series held an incredibly special evening on the venue’s famed circular stage. A multi-generational audience of fans and friends alike shared the same space, time and moment with a heightened awareness for all who awaited Ms Joy. The circularity of the experience anticipated a certain kind of closeness that led towards a gorgeous immersive jazz revival, with dancing bodies and delectable theatrics.
Aligned with the lead up to International Jazz Day on the 30th of April, and amidst Brick Lane’s Jazz Festival over the weekend past, Samara Joy became a symbol of a restorative golden era in the UK and beyond. With warmth, poise and strength, Joy anticipated an ‘emotional rollercoaster’, as she caught us up on her whirlwind rise on the road over the past three years.
Image: Nick Haill
Opening acapella, with Charles Mingus' ‘Reincarnation of a Love Bird’, Joy grounded herself as an effortless force of nature. With ease and control, she was a scarlet vision accompanied by a seven-piece band dressed to the nines. Recalling greats like Betty Carter, Sarah Vaughan and Billie Holliday, 24 year-old Samara Joy held her own as a promising living legend.
Joy also paid homage to her late mentor, pianist and composer Barry Harris, whose legacy of generosity and humility lives on through ‘Now and Then’. With agile runs in ‘Linger Awhile’, to a playful delivery of ‘Day by day’, Joy continued to welcome some sunshine to a rainy evening in London with, ‘Worry Later’ - a syncopated invitation to get us up onto our feet to ‘shake a lil’ something.’
Image: Nick Haill
Act two was another enchanting breath of fresh air. Opening with ‘Sweet Pumpkin’, Joy drew us closer, as she shared her journey of finding her own voice and confessed to missing her family on tour. With all the changes, Joy lifted us up with Sun Ra’s ‘Dreams Come True’, encouraging patience and hope; the day that we sow the seeds of our dreams isn’t necessarily the day we also reap a harvest: ‘Mine came true, yours will too.’
Throughout the night, Samara Joy transported us into a universe of realised dreams and revival. Her timeless vocal instrument and inviting stage presence brought an auditorium to our feet. To show our admiration for Ms Joy’s rare gift, there was a standing ovation for her first and second encore that elevated us into the rest of the night.
Image: Nick Haill
