Samara Joy - A Joyful Holiday (2023)

If you've never heard jazz vocalist Samara Joy McLendon sing before you'll swear that the 2023 Grammy winner for Best New Artist is way older than twenty-four years old because she's a fully mature talent who sounds much older than her age. To show you how far she has come in such a short time the songstress also won an additional trophy this year for Best Jazz Vocal Album for her second full length record, Linger Awhile. 

Comparisons can be made to the renowned jazz divas of the Great American Songbook. Joy's voice has the soulfulness of Billie Holiday and the smoothness of Ella Fitzgerald.

The Bronx native was raised on gospel music. She sang in church, then discovered jazz and recorded two albums of pop and jazz standards during the last two years before her brand new, six-song, Christmas EP, A Joyful Holiday was released in October.

On this fine holiday set, the rising star was assisted by her regular quartet and her well-known, gospel performing family members: her grandfather, Elder Goldwire McLendon; her father, Antonio McLendon; an uncle and two cousins.

Joy just doesn't mine the well of tiresome old Christmas standards. She opens the EP with a seasonal song that Julie London recorded in 1956, "Warm In December," then moves on to a Motown ballad, "Twinkle Twinkle, Little Me," that both Stevie Wonder and The Supremes released in the 60s. The latter features only Joy on vocals and a quite talented pianist, Sullivan Fortner.

Next are two perennial pop favorites, "The Christmas Song" and "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" both done in quiet, laid-back renditions where the star really gets a chance to show off her abundant talent.

Joy included a gospel version of "O Holy Night" with her family on vocals and only Fortner's Hammond B-3 as accompaniment. This version is terrific, but you have to be at least a little partial to the genre to fully appreciate it.

The last track is a live reprise of "The Christmas Song" where Joy shared lead vocals with her father.

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