LIVE: Samara Joy w/ Pasquale Grasso Trio @ the Falcon Marlboro, 05/15/2022

Who says jazz is dead? It certainly isn’t. The proof in the pudding was the performance of rising star Samara Joy at the Falcon.

Vocalist Joy was accompanied by guitarist Pasquale Grasso and his band consisting of Keith Balla on drums and Neil “Sugar” Caine on bass.

The 2019 winner of the Sarah Vaughan  International Jazz Vocal competition recently returned from a European tour. She delivered her own personal interpretation of jazz standards from the “Golden Age”. It was like traveling back to the 52nd Street of the era for real; not a museum likeness. Performances of such standards as “Can’t Get Started”, “Guess Who I Saw”, “Just Squeeze Me”, ”Stardust”, and “April in Paris” were delivered with smoothness and emotion that went far beyond her 24 chronological years.  The show stopper was her performance of the classic Thelonius Monk ballad “Round Midnight” as a duet with Pasquale Grasso. Her soaring soprano and delivery conveyed the mood of the song as well as the lyrics. She did stray from these standards by singing a relatively obscure Monk composition “San Francisco Holiday” with lyrics “Don’t Worry Now”.

No jazz is not dead. Judging from the full house on a Sunday night it doesn’t even smell funny. 

Photo Gallery by Rudy Lu