Biography
Mary Stallings born in
San Francisco, she is one of the eldest of 11 children in the Stallings family; saxophonist Ron Stallings is her first cousin. She grew up in the Laurel Heights district, where she still lives, and started as a gospel singer at the First AME Church.
[1] Her professional singing career began before she graduated from
Lowell High School. Encouraged by her uncle, saxophonist Orlando Stallings, she listened closely to the great jazz singers. As a teenager, Stallings was appearing in Bay Area night clubs (
Hungry i,
The Purple Onion, El Matador), performing with such luminaries as
Ben Webster,
Cal Tjader,
Earl Hines,
Red Mitchell,
Teddy Edwards, and the Montgomery brothers (
Wes,
Monk, and Buddy). Before graduation from high school she joined R&B pioneer
Louis Jordan's Tympani Five. One night in the early
1960's, at San Francisco's
Black Hawk nightclub,
Dizzy Gillespie invited Ms. Stallings out of the audience and onto his bandstand to sing. When she was 26, wound up playing the legendary
Monterey Jazz Festival together with Gillespie in
1965, and several West Coast gigs.
Perhaps best known for her
1961 collaboration with
vibraphonist Cal Tjader on the album
Cal Tjader Plays, Mary Stallings Sings
on
Fantasy Records, with engagements in
Tokyo,
Manila and
Bangkok ensued, along with work up and down the West Coast. She spent a year in the late
1960s performing in Nevada with
Billy Eckstine, and toured South America with Gillespie's band in
1965 and
1966. She has shared the bill with such luminaries as
Joe Williams,
Tony Bennett and
Ella Fitzgerald.
[2] From
1969-
1972, a three-year residency as the
Count Basie Orchestra "girl singer." In
1972, in semi-retirement, she gave birth to her only child,
R&B singer
Adriana Evans.
[3]
Stallings returned to full-time singing at the end of the
1980s and finally came to the attention of the national jazz audience with the
1994 release of the aptly titled
I Waited for You
on Concord Jazz, is a feel-good session with pianist
Gene Harris quartet, featuring Ron Escherte (guitar), Luther Hughes (bass), and
Paul Humphrey (drums). Stallings and Harris share a deep affinity for the blues, and the pianist takes a break from his usual build-to-a-crescendo style to play some highly lyrical passages. Highlights include two
Benny Carter tunes, "Only Trust Your Heart," and the wonderfully swinging opener "Where or When."
[4]
The album entitled
Spectrum
(
1995) features a group of true professionals who know what accompanying a singer's is all about. Pianist
Gerald Wiggins leads the rhythm section with Ron Escherte (guitar),
Andy Simpkins (bass), and
Paul Humphrey (drums). Trumpeter
Harry "Sweets" Edison contributes to six tunes. Stallings sings with precision and finely calibrated emotional nuance throughout, capturing perfectly the pathos of "Solitude" and the wishfullness of "Some Other Time." A relaxed, highly swinging session.
Manhattan Moods
(
1997), pianist
Monty Alexander covers a variety of moods, from the sensously slow, torchy rendering of the bop anthem "How High the Moon," to the
Basie-ish groove of "Sweet and Lovely," to the playfully swinging version of "Surrey with the Fringe on Top." Bassist Ben Wolfe and drummer Clyd Lucas round out the rhythm section, while Hendrik Meukens adds some gorgeous harmonica work on two tracks and plays vibes on "He Was Too Good to Me."
Dick Oatts plays flute on "How High the Moon" and "He Was." Though often thought as a
Dinah Washington disciple, Stallings choice listening to
Billie Holiday shows up on "Ghost of a Chance" and "You Go to My Head."
Remember Love
(
2005), brilliantly produced by
Geri Allen, who plays piano and organ, but also provided all of the arrangements. Stallings is heard throughout at the peak of her powers. Among the many high points are a touching version of "Hello Yesterday," very slow renditions of "Dindi" and "Lucky to Be Me," a duet with bassist
Darryl Hall on "Centerpiece," a swinging and joyful "I Just Found Out About Love," a haunting "Remember Love," and
Dinah Washington's "What a Difference a Day Makes." This is one of Mary Stallings' finest recordings and is highly recommended, it peak to #23 on the
Billboard
chart.
[5]
List of performances, just to name a few, Mary Stallings has played at legendary
Monterey Jazz Festival 1965,
1995 and
2003. The
San Francisco Jazz Festival 2001,
2004, and
2006 was backed by the powerful 15-piece Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra, with pianist
Geri Allen [6] Performed
2005 with
Clark Terry at the Blue Note Jazz Club in
New York. The
2007 Georgia's
Savannah Music Festival accompanied by The
Eric Reed Trio with
Wycliffe Gordon.
[7] Jazz at Lincoln Center (
2007), The Birth of Cool, highlighted Ms. Stalling's interpretation of the
Billie Holiday standards "Pennies From Heaven" and "Laughing at Life."
[8]
Awards
- 2006 San Francisco's SFJAZZ Beacon Award recipient. [9]
Selective discography
Year
| Title
| Genre
|
|
2005
| Remember Love
| Jazz
| Half Note
|
|
2001
| Live at the Village Vanguard
| Jazz
| Max Jazz
|
|
1996
| Yesterday, Today and Forever
| Jazz
| Concord Jazz
|
|
1995
| Spectrum
| Jazz
| Concord
|
|
1995
| Fine & Well
| Jazz
| Clarity
|
|
1994
| I Waited for You
| Jazz
| Concord Jazz
|
|
1990
| Fine and Mellow
| Jazz
| Clarity
|
|
1961
| Cal Tjader Plays, Mary Stallings Sings
| Jazz
| Fantasy
|
|
Footnotes
- Bay Area jazz veteran Mary Stallings to headline S.F. festival
- San Francisco Chronicle (January 29, 1995)
- Adriana Evans
- Musichound Jazz: ''The Essential Album Guide'', Schirmer Trade Books, page 1062, ISBN 0825672538
- Billboard: ''Remember Love''
- Mary Stallings with the Marcus Shelby Orchestra featuring Geri Allen
- Doing it her way (January 14, 2007)
- Jazz at Lincoln Center 2007
- SFJAZZ Beacon Award