/ I first met Samara Joy in November 2019, two days before she won the prestigious Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition at NJPAC. She walked into the WBGO studio for her interview as a finalist with a very mild, unassuming presence that certainly wouldn’t set off any alarm bells. We started talking and she mentioned how she had only come to discover Sarah Vaughan’s "Lover Man" the previous year, as a student at SUNY Purchase. She was instantly enthralled, and dove in headfirst into the legend's body of work. The Pulse featuring Samara Joy and the 2021 SVVC Finalists Samara (who previously used her family name, McLendon) grew up in a family rooted in gospel and R&B. (Her grandparents led the Philadelphia-based gospel group The Savettes). When she began to study jazz seriously, her professor Jon Faddis was the impetus for her entering the competition, recognizing the rare talent she exhibited. “I’m just a girl from the Bronx,” Samara said during our initial interview, still unsure whether she was ready to compete against some of the best singers in the world.