(NEWARK, NJ) -- A distinguished panel of judges and pillars of the jazz community awarded Samara McLendon first place in the 8th Annual Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition. The competition to find the next great jazz vocalist was held on Sunday, November 24 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), as part of the TD James Moody Jazz Festival.

As the first-prize winner of the SASSY Award, McLendon receives a $5,000 cash award as well as a guaranteed performing slot at the 2020 Newport Jazz Festival. The second-place winner of the competition was Daniela Spallette, who was awarded a $1,500 cash prize, and the third-place winner was Viktorija Gečytė, who received $500.

Pulled from over 600 submissions, McLendon was among five finalists who performed before a live audience at NJPAC's Victoria Theater and a judging panel consisting of multi-Grammy-winning bassist Christian McBride, Grammy- and Tony Award-winning jazz giant Dee Dee Bridgewater, vocalist Jane Monheit, WBGO weekend host Monifa Brown, and award-winning producer Matt Pierson.

The competition recalls the humble beginnings of legendary jazz singer Sarah Vaughan who, back in 1942, was a Newark teenager and winner of an amateur singing contest at the Apollo Theater. That memorable night help launch the lifework of one of the most successful, influential jazz vocalists in the history of American music. Past winners include Cyrille Aimée, Jazzmeia Horn (winner of the 2015 Thelonious Monk Competition), Ashleigh Smith, Arianna Neikrug, Deelee Dubé, Quiana Lynell, and last year's winner, Laurin Talese, who performed at the 2019 Newport Jazz Festival as part of her triumphant win in last year's competition.

NJPAC partnered with TD Bank, the festival's title sponsor for the event. For the 8th consecutive year, TD Bank's generous support and commitment to the arts has helped build the TD James Moody Jazz Festival into one of the most noteworthy jazz festivals in North America.

Born and raised in the Castle Hill section of the Bronx, Samara McLendon is a rising star. Although new to the jazz scene, she has managed to perform at many great jazz rooms such as Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, Mezzrow, and the infamous Blue Note in New York City with seasoned professionals including Pasquale Grasso, Jon Faddis, and NEA Jazz Master Dr. Barry Harris. She has also held a position as a vocal teaching assistant for JAZZ HOUSE KiDS summer program She is currently a junior in the prestigious Jazz Studies program within SUNY Purchase. Still staying true to her roots, Samara remains a volunteer in the music department at her home church of World Changers Church New York on the Grand Concourse. Having a passionate love for jazz music, she hopes to use its uniting force as a catalyst for change in the years to come.

Born in Sicily, singer, composer, arranger, and lyricist, Daniela Spalletta is considered one of Italy’s premier jazz singers. Her debut album, D/Birth, with her own compositions and arrangements, garnered excellent reviews and multiple awards in her native country. She has won many international jazz awards, among which the Multiculturita Europe Contest, Premio Claudio Abbado, Premio Nazionale delle Arti, and the Lucca Jazz Donna Award. In 2015 she won a full-tuition scholarship to study for a Masters in Contemporary Performing Arts at the Berklee College of Music in Valencia. She performed in many festivals in Europe, including Atelier Musicale, Jazz al Piccolo, Umbria Jazz, Rendez Vous De L’Erdre, Crema Jazz Art Festival, Casa del Jazz, Django World Music Festival, Vittoria Jazz Festival, and the BeatOnto Jazz Festival. She teaches vocal jazz at several music conservato

Lithuanian-born, Paris-based Viktorija Gečytė began her performance career as a child singer on television. Later, she schooled herself in global jazz by hitchhiking to music festivals around her native country. At nineteen, thanks to a scholarship from Lafayette College in Pennsylvania, ‘Vik’ moved to the US and dove into the New York area jazz scene, while earning her BA in mathematics and economics. After graduation, she settled in Paris and started performing internationally. Since 2008, Vik has been touring and recording with legendary, Jersey-born American bassist Gene Perla. Their second album together, featuring Edsel Gomez on piano and Adam Nussbaum on drums, will be coming out in early 2020 on P.M. Records. The past two summers, Vik was featured as a guest vocalist with the Frankfurt Radio Big Band at two open-air concerts in Germany.

Co-produced by NJPAC and WBGO Jazz 88.3FM, the TD James Moody Jazz Festival was inaugurated in 2012 and named in recognition of the jazz saxophone virtuoso from Newark. NJPAC's annual celebration of "America's classical music" is a spree of more than two dozen concerts and related activities - over half of which are free to the community. Guided by Christian McBride, NJPAC's Jazz Advisor, the festival has presented artists such as The Manhattan Transfer, David Sanborn, Tony Bennett, Wynton Marsalis, Al Jarreau, Dianne Reeves, Sérgio Mendes, Bill Charlap, Esperanza Spalding, Fantasia, Chris Botti, Pat Metheny, and the Keith Jarrett/Gary Peacock/Jack DeJohnette trio, among many others.

TD James Moody Jazz Festival is intrinsic to Newark, a city renowned as the home and creative inspiration for jazz geniuses including Sarah Vaughan and pianist Willie "The Lion" Smith, and institutions such as Savoy Records, the Rutgers-Newark Institute of Jazz Studies and WBGO Jazz 88.3FM. Among the festival's unique events are concerts and special attractions held off-campus throughout Newark.