Ravinia 2024 Issue 5

PAVILION 7:00 PM SUNDAY, AUGUST 25, 2024 SAMARA JOY † with special guest JOEL ROSS † Joel Ross –Intermission– Samara Joy † Ravinia debut JOEL ROSS Joel Ross has amassed a dedicated following by creating music to lean into. Across the vibraphon- ist’s early recorded output—2019’s KingMaker , 2020’s Who Are You? , and 2022’s The Parable of the Poet —the compositions were somewhat com- plex, and swept the virtuosity of his band’s live performance into a studio setting. For this year’s nublues , his fourth release as a leader for Blue Note, Ross challenged himself to create an album with a greater degree of accessibility—still intri- cate and adventurous, but with a strong empha- sis on melody, ballads, and the blues. Alongside covers of John Coltrane’s “Equinox” and “Central Park West” and Thelonious Monk’s “Evidence,” Ross’s newly written material exemplifies the bandleader’s evolution. The genesis of nublues dates back to 2020, when Ross went back to the New School to finish his degree. There, the alto saxophonist Darius Jones nudged students to dig into the history of the blues, which led Ross down a rabbit hole of what the blues can be—not just a 12-bar form, but a feeling. The blues also had a literal meaning in the album’s creation: The melancholy of iso- lation made its way to the arrangements, the uncertainty of time clashing with the optimism of bright- er days. With his longtime band Good Vibes, nublues finds the quintet in rhythmic synergy, the type of improv that only comes after internalizing the sheet music so they can go off-script. Ross crafted the album to resemble a film—played in sequence, it’s a mosaic that feels vibrant, yet serene. His partner, the flutist Gabrielle Garo, guests on a three of its pieces, including “bach (God the Father in Eternity),” which injects the sound, the church, and the rhythm of Black American music into a melodic fragment by J.S. Bach. Joel Ross is making his Ravinia debut. This performance features band members Lenard Simpson, alto sax; Mike King, piano; Runere Brooks, bass; and Josh Ross, drums. SAMARA JOY With three Grammy wins and a chart-topping debut album already under her belt, 24-year-old Samara Joy makes her case to join the likes of Sarah, Ella, and Billie as the next mononymous jazz-singing sensation. Her voice has already led her to appearances on The Today Show , Jimmy Fallon , Stephen Colbert , CBS Mornings , Kelly Clarkson , Jennifer Hudson , and more, in addi- tion to millions of likes on TikTok—securing her status as perhaps the first Gen-Z jazz vo- cal star. Samara began singing jazz as a senior at Fordham High School for the Arts and was awarded Best Vocalist at Jazz at Lincoln Cen- ter’s Essentially Ellington competition. She then attended the jazz program at SUNY Purchase, where she became the school’s Ella Fitzgerald Scholar. During that time, she also won the 2019 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Com- petition, a cornerstone honor for a rising jazz artist. In July 2021, the year she graduated from SUNY Purchase, Samara released her self-titled debut on Whirlwind Recordings. On her debut album for Verve Records, Linger Awhile , Sama- ra swings into burnished chestnuts like “Misty,” “Linger Awhile,” and “Someone to Watch Over Me,” as well as more unusual, if equally vintage selections like “Sweet Pumpkin” (Ronell Bright), “Guess Who I Saw Today” (Nancy Wilson), and “Can’t Get Out of This Mood” (Sarah Vaughan). In February 2023, Samara took home two Gram- mys—Best Jazz Vocal Album (for Linger Awhile ) and Best New Artist. In the relatively short time since, Samara has toured across Europe and the US for stops at the Newport, Nice, Monterey, and Montreal Jazz Festivals, London’s Barbican Center, and Philharmonie Paris, also headlin- ing iconic hometown venues like The Village Vanguard, The Apollo, Jazz at Lincoln Cen- ter’s Rose Hall, and the Blue Note Jazz Club. In October, she released the holiday EP A Joyful Holiday , featuring “O Holy Night” performed with multiple generations of her musical family. Earlier this year, Samara added to her Grammy honors with Best Jazz Performance for her sin- gle “Tight,” and she recently released the single “Why I’m Here,” featured in the Netflix film Shirley . Samara Joy is making her Ravinia debut. RAVINIA.ORG  • RAVINIAMAGAZINE 73 BRUCEBENNETT(ROSS);MEREDITHTRAUX(JOY)