* En anglais uniquement
A passionate, urbane jazz singer,
Mary Stallings has a lithe vocal style greatly influenced by
Carmen McRae.
Stallings first emerged in the 1950s performing in the Bay Area and rose to greater prominence with her 1961 debut Cal Tjader Plays, Mary Stallings Sings. After taking time off for her family, she returned to acclaim in the '90s, issuing a handful of albums on labels like Concord and High Note, including 1996's
Manhattan Moods, 2010's
Dream, and 2013's
But Beautiful.
Born in San Francisco in 1939,
Stallings first started singing at a young age in church. The niece of saxman Orlando Stallings, she gravitated toward jazz, and by her teens was performing in local clubs sharing the stage with such greats as
Louis Jordan,
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. After stints with
Dizzy Gillespie and
Billy Eckstine in the '60s,
Stallings toured with the Count Basie Orchestra as a featured vocalist from 1969 until 1972. The singer was still in
Basie's employ when, in 1971, she gave birth to her only child, R&B singer
Adriana Evans (who issued a well-regarded self-titled debut album on RCA in 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.
Stallings next teamed with pianist
Geri Allen for the 2005 Half Note release
Remember Love.
In 2010,
Stallings delivered
Dream on High Note, featuring pianist
Eric Reed, who also produced the album.
Reed was also on board for 2012's
Don't Look Back and 2013's
But Beautiful. The following year, she issued
Feelin' Good, which featured contributions by pianist
Bruce Barth, trumpeter
Freddie Hendrix, vibraphonist
Steve Nelson, and others. In 2019,
Stallings made her Smoke Sessions debut with Songs Were Made to Sing, playing alongside trumpeter
Eddie Henderson, saxophonist
Vincent Herring, pianist
David Hazeltine, bassist
David Williams, and drummer
Joe Farnsworth. ~ Alex Henderson