NYC singer-songwriter Sami Stevens harnesses Jazz, Soul, and Folk influences to create truly intimate original music. In writing songs, singing and accompanying herself on keyboard, she crafts a musical world based in silence, delivering dynamic, personal performances.
Though performing solo is where she takes complete control of the stage, Sami is also an avid collaborator. She is currently joining Norah Jones on organ and background vocals, as Norah tours her 2024 release ‘Visions.’ Other recent collaborations include I Insist by Kazemde George, The Way I Feel Inside by Marty Isenberg, And I'm Right by Sami Stevens and the Man I Love, the Make Your Mind EP with producer KG,B, and Amore Per Tutti by Tredici Bacci.
In 2023, Sami released her debut solo album ‘Morning’ on Sunnyside Records. Born from a love of classic American music and an ear for storytelling, ‘Morning’ showcases Stevens’ rich vocal delivery as it ebbs between intimate personal stories and stunning symphonic textures, treating the vastness of the human condition with painterly impressions and an empathetic disposition. Glide Magazine wrote “Sami Stevens did more than impress with her first solo outing, she quickly established herself as one of the most promising songwriters to appear in the past few years.”
Sami’s performance and recording career has transcended genre; she has performed with Genius Grant recipient Jason Moran and 6-time Grammy nominee Fred Hersch, collaborated with acclaimed avant-garde composer John Zorn, and recorded with "King of Treme" Shannon Powell and DIY legend Gary Wilson. Sami has opened for Grammy nominated folk singer Greg Brown, Rachael Price of Lake Street Dive, and Black Star MC Talib Kweli. Sami has appeared on various film and TV soundtracks as well, including Archer (FX; J.G. Thirlwell) and Sesame Street (PBS).
Sami has toured North America, Europe, and Australia with various projects, appearing at NYC venues including the Barclays Center, the Cutting Room, Brooklyn Bowl, Smalls, the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, The Jazz Gallery, Roulette, and National Sawdust, and at music festivals including Big Ears, Sydney Fest, SXSW, O+ Festival, Phoenicia Intl. Festival of the Voice, and Meltasia. Her projects have been lauded by Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Downbeat, and the New York Times, and featured on various official Spotify playlists, including “Best Vocal Jazz of 2021.”
Sami studied privately with Dominique Eade and John McNeil at the New England Conservatory of Music, where she graduated with a BM in Vocal Jazz Performance in the fall of 2014. The same year, she received a BA in Psychology from Tufts University. Sami grew up in East Winthrop, Maine, and is currently living in Brooklyn, NY.
DISCOGRAPHY:
Morning - Sami Stevens
And I’m Right - Sami Stevens and the Man I Love
the Melting EP - Sami Stevens
I Insist - Kazemde George
Oscillospira - JG Thirwell and Simon Steensland
Dream Louder - Rotem Sivan
Menagerie - Grant Richards
The Way I Feel Inside - Marty Isenberg’s Wes Anderson Project
Start - Great Long Meadow Fire
Sparks - Ludovica Burtone
Direction - Alex Madeline
Make Your Mind EP - Sami Stevens and KG,B with J. Swiss
A Song for Us - Sami Stevens and Hiba Elgizouli
Enduring Democracy; the Monterey Petition - Soundtrack
Changemaker - Sesame Street Soundtrack
Archer - Soundtrack - JG Thirwell
It’s Personal With Amy Hogart - Soundtrack - Tredici Bacci
La Fine Del Futuro - Tredici Bacci
Amore Per Tutti - Tredici Bacci
The Thirteen Kisses EP - Tredici Bacci
Vai! Vai! Vai! - Tredici Bacci
Fancy Mess - Tredici Bacci
Another Lonely Night in Brooklyn - Gary Wilson
Fils de Plouc (Mother Schmuckers) - Soundtrack - Simon Hanes
Love Transformation - Mina Cho
Tracing a Line - Robin Buyer
Four Thing - Zach Phillips
This is Love - Elise Testone
Deephau5 - Drop.Kick.Pop
Battleship Potemkin - Original Rescore - Morricone Youth
The Last Porno Show - Morricone Youth
Danger: Diabolik - Original Rescore - Morricone Youth
Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans - Original Rescore - Morricone Youth
The Lodger - Original Rescore - Morricone Youth