Samara Joy made her debut at our festival in 2022 at the Conservatori Liceu, leading a trio of French musicians. She arrived in Barcelona for the first time backed by having won the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition in 2019, and she indeed confirmed all expectations: a young and powerful voice unafraid to measure herself against unquestionable references such as Sarah Vaughan, Betty Carter, Abbey Lincoln, and Carmen McRae.

Four years later, Joy—who will have turned just 27 only two days earlier—makes her debut at the Palau de la Música Catalana leading a septet, with six Grammy Awards to her name since that now distant 2022. With her latest album, Portrait, she showcases her artistry at the helm of this ensemble, including arrangements with her own lyrics (Charles Mingus) and music by other references such as Sun Ra and her mentor Barry Harris. “A star is born,” we said to ourselves at the end of her 2022 recital. It seems we weren’t too far off in our prediction…