Biography All Music Guide Wikipedia
All Music Guide:
Greatly influenced by Carmen McRae, San Francisco native Mary Stallings is a passionate, robust singer who isn't nearly as well known as she should be. The niece of saxman Orlando Stallings, she started singing as a child and sang jazz in Bay Area clubs during her teenage years, when she performed with Louis Jordan & His Tympani 5 and shared the stage with such greats as Wes Montgomery and Ben Webster. One of Stallings' admirers was vibist Cal Tjader, whom she teamed up with in 1961 for Cal Tjader Plays, Mary Stallings Sings on Fantasy. But regrettably, albums by Stallings were few and far between. After stints with Dizzy Gillespie and Billy Eckstine in the 1960s, Stallings toured with the Count Basie Orchestra as a featured vocalist from 1969-1972. The singer was still in Basie's employ when, in 1971, she gave birth to her only child, R&B singer Adriana Evans (whose self-titled debut album on RCA was among the finest R&B releases of 1997). Pharoah Sanders became Evans' godfather, and Stallings went into semi-retirement from music to stay home and raise her daughter. Though she performed occasionally when Adriana was growing up, it wasn't until the late '80s that Stallings seriously resumed her career. She made a long overdue return to record stores with Clarity Recordings' 1990 audiophile release Fine and Mellow, and in 1994 Stallings signed with Concord Jazz and recorded I Waited for You. Some equally memorable Concord dates followed (including Spectrum in 1995 and Manhattan Moods in 1996), and Stallings' admirers were glad to see her recording regularly after so many years of obscurity. She was back on Clarity in 1998 for Trust Your Heart and returned in 2001 with the concert album Live at the Village Vanguard on MAXJAZZ. She then teamed with pianist Geri Allen for the 2005 Half Note release Remember Love. In 2010, Stallings delivered Dream on Highnote, featuring pianist Eric Reed, who also produced the album.
Wikipedia:
Mary Stallings (born August 16, 1939 in San Francisco) is an American jazz vocalist and mother of R&B/soul singer Adriana Evans.
Biography
Mary Stallings was born in San Francisco, 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. 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 1960s, at San Francisco's Black Hawk nightclub, Dizzy Gillespie invited Ms. Stallings out of the audience and onto his bandstand to sing. She wound up playing the legendary Monterey Jazz Festival together with Gillespie at age 26 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, 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. 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.
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."
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.
In 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 peaked at #23 on the Billboard chart.
List of performances. To name just a few, Mary Stallings has played at the 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 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. 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."
