I saw jazz singer Samara Joy for the second time at the Levitt Pavilion in Westport, Connecticut on June 3, one night after seeing guitarist Bill Frisell at the Sacred Heart Community Theater in Fairfield, Connecticut–one town over. What an amazing one-two! They were both superb, in very different ways.

It was an uncharacteristically chilly night at the Levitt, which stages a full program of summer shows. The wind chill off the adjacent Saugatuck River made it feel even colder, and Joy—who was in an ebullient mood—acknowledged the heartiness of the audience. Her performance was unaffected, though she wore only a billowing bright orange stage dress. In fact, since I saw her at Queens College—before the two Grammys—she has only grown as an artist, and in Westport scat sang with abandon, held notes and in general exulted in the sheer power of her improvisatory voice.

With Luther Allison on piano, Evan Sherman on drums and Marty Jaffe on bass, she would have lifted the roof off the Pavilion—if it had one. On “No More Blues,” an Antonio Carlos Jobim/Jon Hendricks composition, she held on to the “S” in “Blues” until it screamed. She flawlessly essayed the Portuguese lyrics, too. Joy must be wearing out her copy of Inside Betty Carter because she frequently references songs from that superb 1964 outing, including in Westport “Beware My Heart.” Allison was very strong on this one. Jaffe was also great, though over-amplified through no fault of his own. Joy’s take: “Beeeeewaaaare my heart.”

The Billy Mays/Milt Raskin “Somewhere in the Night” she got from jazz singer Teri Thornton and her 1963 recording. As Joy noted it was the theme song for the popular TV show Naked City. Up next was Joy’s version of the ill-fated trumpet player Fats Navarro’s “Nostalgia,” with her lyrics to the trumpet solo. This is, of course, what Lambert, Hendricks and Ross used to do, and her roller-coaster treatment was up to their high standards. And then another Betty Carter song, “Tight Mr. Gentleman,” taken at a fast tempo as Betty was wont to do, with on-a-dime turnarounds and acapella sections.

Joy’s version of Monk’s “Round Midnight” included the Bernie Hanighen lyrics, of course. It was a brilliant version. She mentioned that Margo Guryan, little remembered today, wrote lyrics for many jazz standards. Among the musicians who benefited from her words were John Lewis, Ornette Coleman (“Lonely Woman”) and Arif Mardin. Of course, she also wrote “Sunday Morning,” a hit for Spanky and Our Gang. I love that Joy researches the songs she sings. She also finds relative obscurities such as another Monk song, “Worry Later.”

From the bestselling Linger Awhile (now in an expanded version) she sang Nancy Wilson’s “Guess Who I Saw Today,” which was written by Elisse Boyd and Murray Grand. The song reminds me of June Christy’s “Something Cool,” which is full of similar 1950s specificity. Wilson’s version is nice, but I have to say that Joy kills the thing.

Joy’s family was in the front row. Maybe that’s why she was so good. But I suspect she’s always going to be that good.

The author (right) with, at left, Joe Celli (WPKN programmer who presented Frisell in concert in downtown Bridgeport years ago) and the amazing Bill Frisell. (Jin Hi Kim photo)

For Frisell, I didn’t take any notes, I just let his beautiful music wash over me. So instead of offering a blow-by-blow of his trio show with Thomas Morgan and Rudy Royston, I offer these quotes from the WPKN interview I conducted with him a few days before the show.

Were you happy with the Phillip Watson biography Beautiful Dreamer?”

Happy, yes, it’s hard to describe what I feel about it. It’s so intense. Try to imagine someone going through your entire life, every moment. I spent a lot of time with him, he came to my house, he rummaged through my basement, he talked to so many people. And I spent so much time with him. But then he went away to write the book. I had no control over what it was. And then he came back and said, “Hey, Bill, it’s all done and I want you to read it all through.” It was one of the strangest and most intense thing ever. I would say he was very, very thorough and very careful. He wanted it all to be correct, and he did an incredible job.

Why no bass on the 2023 Blue Note release Four? The album features Gerald Clayton on piano, Gregory Tardy on sax and clarinet, and Johnathan Blake on drums.

I just wasn’t thinking about it. I was thinking about that combination of personalities together, and it was only later it dawned on me, “Oh, wait, there’s no bass.” I’d had a dream about playing with those specific people, the way their minds would work together. I spoke to Don Was, the president of Blue Note, and he said, “Wow, let’s do it,” and suddenly it became real. I had a moment of panic when I thought about getting a bass, but no, I stuck with the original idea.

I love the diversity of your music, and your embrace of Americana.

When I was in high school, I was so fired up about music and the way one thing would lead to another. I really loved Bob Dylan, and I loved James Brown, and I was listening to all this blues stuff. And then I went and heard Charles Lloyd’s band with Keith Jarrett on piano. So I bought a Keith Jarrett record and Charlie Haden’s on it and they’re playing a Bob Dylan song. It’s a continuous stream of music really.