Welcome back to Crate Digging , our recurring feature that takes a deep dive into music history to turn up several albums all music fans should know. In this edition, Grammy-winning vocalist Samara Joy gives us the perfect autumn jazz itinerary.
“Winning one Grammy wasn’t on my bingo card for my life, and winning three was completely unexpected,” says Samara Joy , who took home the trophy for Best New Artist in 2023 before scooping up two more accolades at the 2024 ceremony. In the aftermath of what she calls “Grammy hoopla,” her new album organically began to take shape. That third LP, Portrait , arrives Friday, October 11th.
“I took my time in figuring out what to do next and not trying to rush to chase any sort of relevance or momentum,” she tells Consequence over Zoom, speaking from her apartment in Harlem. “I wanted to focus on the music and offer something of substance and be an artist of substance, and that only comes from putting time into what you love.”
And for Samara Joy, that thing she loves is jazz. While she comes from a musical family and was raised hearing classics, she didn’t fully fall into the genre until her first year of college. Something shifted when she began to spend more time with the likes of Sarah Vaughan, whose music she mentions as one of her essential picks that also specifically informed the making of Portrait .
Listen to “Autumn Nocturne” from Portrait below, and read on for the 10 albums Joy selected as the backdrop for the perfect fall day.
Esperanza Spalding — Radio Music Society
I feel like this album might have been my introduction to jazz without me even knowing it because I can remember, very vividly, singing along when I was in middle school or the beginning of high school. My dad would put on this record all the time, and now that I’m listening to it, as an adult, I’m like, “Oh my gosh, this is such a beautiful representation of Esperanza’s take on jazz, on her own original music, on her roots in classical.” But when I was growing up, it really was just, “Oh my gosh, I love her voice,” and that remains true to this day.
This is kind of different; it’s more on the bossa nova Brazilian side of things, but I love the combination of João Gilberto’s voice — how sensitive it is — combined with these beautiful orchestrations by by Claus Ogerman. It’s not only standards, but bossa nova music. I feel like it’s a perfect combination for you to enjoy fall in the best possible way.
I didn’t know anything about jazz when I got into it in undergrad in my first year of college, but listening to Sarah Vaughan, especially her live recordings, was something that really captured me because I loved how easy it sounded when she sang. But when I tried to attempt to imitate her, it was very difficult. The range and the colors that she was able to access at any point, at any given moment…hearing her is what made me want to pursue this music.
It wasn’t that I wanted to be able sing exactly like her, but I wanted to be able to create on the spot and have all of these different tools at my disposal when it comes to singing. So I feel like Sarah Vaughn: Live at Mister Kelly’s is the perfect introduction to jazz, but also a perfect way to a perfect soundtrack for the fall.
Etta Jones is, to me, a beautiful singer. I feel like she was more known for being able to sing the blues, but this album, in particular, was very popular. I feel like it showcased her range in being a jazz singer, combined with the beautiful band. She sings all of these different standards, both popular and kind of obscure, and her unique interpretation of it all is what draws me to this album over and over again.
This album features the orchestrations of the great arranger Gil Evans, and what I love about this album is that it’s a testament to legendary collaborators and duos. You think of duos in creative fields, whether it’s acting or painting or composers and lyricists, and I feel like this relationship between Miles Davis and his sound and Gil Evans and his orchestrations married together is a beautiful representation of what happens when you find your perfect musical collaborator.
Roy, he was an interesting case, because he was young when he came on the scene in the ’90s and so he was surrounded by all of these jazz legends. But at the same time, he was carving out his own sound, and he went on to play with D’Angelo and Erykah Badu, but he was accessible at the same time. You could go down to the jazz club and he was connected to all of the music that was happening during his time, wile also being connected to the tradition of jazz.
I feel like that’s what made him an overall excellent musician, the fact that he could play, and it’s not like he had to put on a different hat. I’m gonna put on my jazz hat, my R&B hat, my Motown hat, but he was just a complete musician. He passed away at 49 years old, and this album was released posthumously. He was 25 when he recorded this love suite of his. It’s a completely original work. I’m inspired by that because he was 25 and he was recording and he was making music and creating and writing his own original music based on jazz, and he was committed to music and sharing it with people to the day he died. This album is one of my favorites and he’s one of my favorite artists.
I feel like there were many options and many different directions I could have gone after winning the Grammys. Winning one Grammy wasn’t on my bingo card for my life, and winning three was completely unexpected. There were definitely temptations to go in certain directions, more towards this idea of being some sort of star. I’m glad that instead of going down those tempting roads, I just took my time and went back into creating music.
I took my time in figuring out what to do next and not trying to rush to chase any sort of relevance or momentum. I wanted to focus on the music and offer something of substance and be an artist of substance, and that only comes from putting time into what you love. So with this project in particular, I’m so glad that I was confident enough to choose the band, to choose the video I wanted to record, and to choose the photographers and the artist I wanted to paint my album cover.
I wanted to be a co producer and I wanted to be all hands on deck in this because at the end of the day, when all of this is over, if you take away the Grammys, if you take away the attention, I still want to be a good artist. I still want to be somebody who gives their all. If you take away attention from some artists, there’s nothing left, you know? This is new territory. But at the end of the day, I’m still me, and I’m still genuine. I still aim to be authentic through my music, so that’s what I feel like this project represents.
What I love about Nat King Cole is not only his choice of repertoire, but, honestly, just how beautiful his voice is. I know a lot of people say that it reminds them of Christmas, but the depth of his voice and his experience as a musician meant he was able to interpret melodies in such a deep, vast, wide discography of music. This album in particular showcases his voice in such a beautiful way, and it’s so timeless.
There is an album called The Audience With Betty Carter . It’s a live album, and Betty Carter was one of those artists that I listened to and first discovered while I was in college. I love the fact that she was so unique and so individual, and it seemed like she was a true band leader as a vocalist. If she did a cue, then that was the tempo. She could write her own music and she could interpret standards and she uncovered hidden gems in her repertoire. She made songs her own to the point where I would listen and ask, “Did she write that? Because I’ve never heard this anywhere else.” And even if I did, it wouldn’t compare to her arrangement. I love her individuality, her creativity, and how she approached a song, and I feel like that inspired me as a band leader and as a vocalist to continue to be creative and to reach for ideas of what could be possible with a song.
I feel like there are some parallels between her journey with this album and my journey getting to this third album of mine. This album was recorded in 1961, and before that, she was kind of being made into this image of like a supper club singer. “You’re supposed to dress this certain way, sing these songs only, and sing in these spaces and keep it cute.” I feel like this album is a representation of her expressing herself for who she truly is and seeing all that was happening around her in 1961 and expressing that in music.
I feel like this album was so far ahead of its time because in certain moments she sounded like she was one of the horns. It wasn’t like the band was somewhere far, far in the background, and she wasn’t participating in any of the music that was happening, but she was a part of it. It was like they were writing specifically for her. All of the chords and all of the lyrics matched the message that she was trying to send through her music and with her voice. That lines up with what I’m reaching for on my own album; being a musician, being a part of an ensemble, collaborating, listening to each other, and expressing a clear message, whether it’s love, loss of a mentor, or being overwhelmed by my experience of life right now as a 24-year old.
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