Mary Stallings

Emerging during the 1950s in the Bay Area scene, the urbane jazz vocalist Mary Stallings cultivated a lithe style deeply shaped by Carmen McRae. Her profile expanded markedly after the 1961 release Cal Tjader Plays, Mary Stallings Sings, though family responsibilities prompted a lengthy hiatus before she reclaimed attention in the 1990s through several Concord and High Note projects, among them 1996’s Manhattan Moods, 2010’s Dream, and 2013’s But Beautiful.

San Francisco-born in 1939, Stallings began singing in church during childhood. As niece of saxman Orlando Stallings she turned toward jazz and, while still a teenager, appeared in neighborhood clubs alongside Louis Jordan, Wes Montgomery, and Ben Webster. Vibist Cal Tjader, an early admirer, recruited her for the 1961 Fantasy album Cal Tjader Plays, Mary Stallings Sings. Further work in the 1960s included engagements with Dizzy Gillespie and Billy Eckstine, followed by a featured-vocalist role with the Count Basie Orchestra that lasted from 1969 to 1972. During that final year she gave birth to her only child, R&B singer Adriana Evans, whose self-titled RCA debut appeared in 1997; Pharoah Sanders served as the infant’s godfather. Stallings then withdrew into semi-retirement to raise her daughter.

She continued to perform sporadically while Adriana grew up, yet a full return to professional activity occurred only in the late 1980s. Clarity Recordings issued the audiophile collection Fine and Mellow in 1990, after which Stallings joined Concord Jazz and recorded I Waited for You in 1994. Subsequent Concord sessions yielded Spectrum in 1995 and Manhattan Moods in 1996. She revisited Clarity for 1998’s Trust Your Heart and documented a Village Vanguard engagement on the 2001 MAXJAZZ release Live at the Village Vanguard.

Pianist Geri Allen joined her for the 2005 Half Note album Remember Love. Dream appeared on High Note in 2010, again featuring pianist and producer Eric Reed, who remained aboard for both 2012’s Don’t Look Back and 2013’s But Beautiful. The following year Stallings released Feelin’ Good, supported by pianist Bruce Barth, trumpeter Freddie Hendrix, vibraphonist Steve Nelson, and additional musicians. Her Smoke Sessions debut, Songs Were Made to Sing, arrived in 2019 with trumpeter Eddie Henderson, saxophonist Vincent Herring, pianist David Hazeltine, bassist David Williams, and drummer Joe Farnsworth.