Young jazz sensation Samara Joy is an old soul with a big TikTok following

Maybe Samara Joy is too young to realize the music industry’s best practices. Or maybe she’s smarter than the average jazz singer.

This summer, the Grammy-winning jazz sensation has been performing all the material from her upcoming third album, “Portrait,” in concert even though the record won’t be available until Oct. 11.

“Just keeping things fresh,” said Joy, who will perform Saturday at the Ordway. “I can look back on all this touring between albums because without it, I wouldn’t have the concept or even the opportunity to try out this new project. And I definitely wouldn’t have had time to build the musical chemistry on the road that I did with the band I recorded with. It ended up being a very fruitful and productive time of experimentation.”

Joy, 24, has done things differently from most jazz performers. But then, it’s paid off: She’s only the second jazz artist to win a Grammy for best new artist. (Esperanza Spalding captured it in 2011.) Maybe she’s on to something.

For one, social media has been a big factor in launching the Bronx native’s career. She has more than 650,000 followers on TikTok and 500,000-plus on Instagram.

“Sometimes it can be more like TikTok is using me,” she said recently from her New York apartment. “I try to strike a balance about making it accessible without compromising the music at all. Only then finding ways that people will engage with it on a short-form basis on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook. So then they can enjoy the long form element of it.”

Joy is finding a diverse audience at her concerts: Young people who are in jazz studies or discovered her on social media, middle-aged people who have brief associations with jazz, and older fans who enjoy standards.

On her upcoming new album, Joy writes lyrics to compositions by two deceased jazz figures, Charles Mingus and Barry Harris.

“It was a process. Both pretty emotional, especially the Harris song. I wanted to make sure I was honoring him and all the mentors in my life who aren’t here,” said Joy, who had worked with keyboardist Harris. “With the Mingus song, that was difficult on a more technical level. It took me a while to learn the melody; there are a lot of interval jumps. The lyrics came slowly and surely.”

Joy also co-wrote an original tune, “Peace of Mind,” with saxophonist Kendric McCallister, that is paired in a medley with Sun Ra’s “Dreams Come True.”

“I wrote the melody first and the lyrics came afterward. I knew that the song was about how overwhelming the past couple years have been, I was growing and becoming an adult in the process and I was away from home a lot and I was trying to figure out who I was. I knew I wanted the chords to be suspenseful and dark and dissonant, so that when the ‘Dreams Come True’ comes in, it would be a relief.”

Joy’s singing on “Portrait” is more confident and adventurous, showcasing different voices than on 2022′s “Linger Awhile,” which led to Grammys for best jazz album and best new artist. Joy credits her growth and involvement behind the scenes and in the studio for the vibe of the new record.

In the past two years, Joy has collected three Grammys, including this year for best jazz performance for “Tight,” a bonus track on the deluxe edition of “Linger Awhile.”

Where are her Grammys?

“I’m embarrassed to say they’re still in the box at my parents’ house. My parents have two cats and they’re pretty active, and my dad doesn’t want anybody to knock them down. They’re locked away,” she explained. “I couldn’t take them [to her apartment]. That’s for my parents.”

Samara Joy McLendon grew up in a musical family. Her father, bassist/singer Antonio McLendon, toured for years with gospel star Andraé Crouch. Her grandparents, Ruth and Elder Goldwire McLendon, sang in the Savettes, a distinguished Philadelphia gospel group.

As a kid, Samara (sah-MARE-ah) fancied herself writing pop songs influenced by the Jonas Brothers and Taylor Swift.

She grew up listening to gospel and R&B music, with Luther Vandross being a particular favorite. Her mother watched YouTube videos of his concerts and Samara became intrigued.

“Those concerts were a staple for me to the point where I’d imitate him on ‘A House Is Not a Home’ and some of his other songs. I enjoy his voice and it was echoing throughout the house as well as my dad’s voice.”

Although she was a vocalist in jazz band in high school, Joy didn’t truly immerse herself in jazz until she went to SUNY Purchase. In 2019, while still in college, she placed first in the prestigious Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition and two years later, before she received her degree in jazz studies, she self-released an eponymous debut featuring two of her college professors.

At first, she was going to bill herself as Samara Joy McLendon a la Cécile McLorin Salvant, the hottest young jazz vocalist of this century.

“But I also understood other people’s wanting it to be short. Some people just call her Cécile or Cécile Salvant or Cécile McLorin. Samara Joy is easy to say and rolls off the tongue.”

“I feel pretty young onstage, energetic and empowered,” she said with a giggle, “but afterwards that’s when the old soul comes out.”

When: 7:30 p.m. Sat.

Where: Ordway, 345 Washington St., St. Paul.