Just four years out of college and with a voice that traverses generations, Brooklyn songstress Samara Joy lifted the auditorium roof off before she even opened her mouth when she made her entrance at Sydney’s sold-out City Recital Hall.

The audience erupted in wild whistles, shouts and screams for a reception usually reserved for rock gods at their first chance to see the woman who, at 25, has won five Grammies and has been compared with the likes of Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday – three of her idols who each got a mention or tribute in her hour-long set.

Samara Joy, City Recital Hall, Sydney. Photo © Shane Rozario

Her crème de la crème seven-piece played a brief introduction before Joy made her entrance in a shimmering white dress with microphone in hand, starting by apologising for “coming off the back of a cold” and making light of any “squeaks” we might hear. She need not have worried as there was barely a clue from her seven-song set that she was under the weather – energy levels were at a high and her athletic voice that ranges from a rich velvety contralto to a vibrant soprano was unimpaired.

She started her set with Betty Carter’s Beware My Heart, her effortless snaking melismas applauded, in an arrangement which featured outstanding solos by David Mason on alto sax and Jason Charos on trumpet. Joy opened her lungs at the end, working the word “beware” through several powerful variations.

Samara Joy, City Recital Hall, Sydney. Photo © Shane Rozario

The Harry Ruby and Bert Kalmar standard Three Little Words had the band swinging behind her effortless vocalise, but when she did sing the words they came through loud and clear, showing that she can put over a song as well as anyone on the scene today, and better than most.

She has also developed into a writer lately, adding some witty lyrics to Thelonius Monk’s Worry Later – “If you wake up in the morning with a troubled mind, don’t worry now, worry later, friend. If you stop and read the writing on the wall you’ll find all your troubles gone – later on!”

The band’s trombonist Donavan Austin is also a composer and arranger and his A Fool in Love (Is Called a Clown) started off as a wistful ballad before a beautiful tenor sax solo by Kendric McCallister opened it up. Joy went through her entire range from lithe and pure top notes to molasses-rich chest voice with stunning speed and control.

Austin’s arrangement of the Billie Holiday classic Left Alone was a highlight of the night, Charos’ gorgeously nuanced trumpet soaring gently over Paul Sikivie’s bowed contrabass and a chorale of horns and Joy’s phrasing evoking the heartache and pain of her heroine’s original version.

McCallister stood up for a jaw-dropping riffing duet with drummer Evan Sherman in Teddy Wilson’s Little Things, his Charlie Parker-like bop flights raising one of the loudest cheers of the night.

Samara Joy, City Recital Hall, Sydney. Photo © Shane Rozario

Pianist Connor Rohrer and the rhythm section kept things tight for the final song of the night, Donald Kahn’s A Beautiful Friendship, which showed why Joy is so often compared to Ella Fitzgerald, who made the song her own 70 years ago.

Earlier in the evening Brisbane-born singer Kristin Berardi was joined by Melbourne bassist and composer Sam Anning for a set featuring her finely modulated a cappella vocals combining originals by both performers alongside Carla Bley’s Lawns and Hoagy Carmichael’s Stardust.

Berardi is based in Switzerland where she has carved out a successful career, and the half-hour set made for a nicely low-key opener, high on charm and laughs as well as top-notch musicianship.

Samara Joy plays Arts Centre Melbourne, 26 October, part of the Melbourne International Jazz Festival and at the Regal Theatre, Perth on 30 October, part of the Perth International Jazz Festival.