''Linger Awhile'' is the second studio album by American jazz singer Samara Joy, released on September 16, 2022, through

Verve Records Verve Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Founded in 1956 by Norman Granz, the label is home to the world's largest jazz catalogue, which includes recordings by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, ...

. It was produced by Matt Pierson. The album won the

Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album The Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works (songs or albums) in the vocal jazz ...

and was responsible for Joy also winning

Best New Artist The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since 1959. Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out, for records released in the previous year. The award was not presented in 1967. The official guidelines are as ...

at the

65th Annual Grammy Awards The 65th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony will be held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on February 5, 2023. It will recognize the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from October 1, 2021, to September 30 ...

. Following Joy's wins, the album reached number 158 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and reached number one on the Jazz Albums chart with 8,500

album-equivalent unit The album-equivalent unit, or album equivalent, is a measurement unit in music industry to define the consumption of music that equals the purchase of one album copy. This consumption includes streaming and song downloads in addition to traditi ...

Critical reception

Peter Moore of ''

Jazzwise ''Jazzwise'', launched in 1997, is the UK jazz monthly magazine. ''Jazzwise'' has a broad sub-genre coverage, from jazz, improv, hard bop, and jazz-rock to bebop and classic jazz, and also covers jazz crossover, including jazz-funk, jazz hip-h ...

'' called ''Linger Awhile'' a "staggeringly fine album", noting "

Guess Who I Saw Today "Guess Who I Saw Today" is a popular jazz song written by Murray Grand with lyrics by Elisse Boyd. The song was originally composed for Leonard Sillman's Broadway musical revue, ''New Faces of 1952'', in which it was sung by June Carroll.Origi ...

" as a standout, and remarked on the "outstanding support from guitarist Pasquale Grasso, pianist

Ben Paterson Ben Paterson (born June 23, 1982) is an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, and Steinway Artist. Early life Paterson graduated from the Settlement Music School in Philadelphia after having spent his earlier years studying classical as w ...

, bassist David Wong and drummer Kenny Washington" on the title track. Moore also called Joy's version of "'Round Midnight" a "wondrous take" and praised the "incredibly beautiful timbre" of her voice on "Someone to Watch Over Me". Veronica Johnson of ''

JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' is an American magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade of growth ...

'' found "much to be admired" and a "musical maturation" on the album, writing that it is a "nostalgic stroll through well-known and obscure standards" with a "mixing of swing and sweet tunes", complimenting "the romantic feel oyinfuses into songs". Angelo Leonardi of ''

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

'' commended Joy's partnership with guitarist Pasquale Grasso, opining that it is "inspiring" and "stands out" on "Someone to Watch Over Me", and felt that Joy "confirms all the good things that have been said about her: unusual interpretative maturity for her age, fresh chromatic variety, creative flair, ndintense feeling", naming ''Linger Awhile'' album of the week.

Track listing

Personnel

* Samara Joy – vocals * Chris Allen – recording, mixing * Sampson Alvarado – recording assistance * Donovan Austin – trombone * Will Bennett – recording assistance * Pasquale Grasso – guitar * Kendric McCallister – tenor saxophone, arrangements *

– piano * Matt Pierson – producer * Ryan Rogers – creative direction, design *

Terell Stafford Terell Stafford (born November 25, 1966) is a professional jazz trumpet player and current Director of Jazz Studies at the Boyer College of Music and Dance at Temple University. Terell Stafford was born in Miami, Florida, and raised in both Chi ...

– trumpet,

flugelhorn The flugelhorn (), also spelled fluegelhorn, flugel horn, or flügelhorn, is a brass instrument that resembles the trumpet and cornet but has a wider, more conical bore. Like trumpets and cornets, most flugelhorns are pitched in B, though some ...

* Meredith Truax – photography * Kenny Washington – drums * David Wong –

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

* Mark Wilder – mastering

Charts

References

{{reflist 2022 albums Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album Samara Joy albums Verve Records albums