Vocalist Samara Joy owns the spotlight with swinging charisma on 2026’s Live at the Blue Note L.A. Recorded at the West Coast club, the EP finds the Grammy-winning singer leading her small big band during her April 2026 run of shows. Here, she dives into a set of well-chosen standards that nicely showcase the golden, resonant warmth of her vocals and her lithe phrasing. It’s a vibe she captured on her studio albums, but which takes on a dynamic immediacy in these live performances. She opens in bold manner with Thelonious Monk’s “Round Midnight,” emerging with a moll’s swagger from her band’s screaming noir-ish fanfare. These are not easy songs, but sophisticated statements of artistic purpose. Her Latin-infused rendition of “Yesterdays” has a burnished…

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