MARY STALLINGS: Five Notable Collaborations

October 12, 2020 | by Rusty Aceves

Mary Stallings and Dizzy Gillespie

Legendary vocalist and SFJAZZ Resident Artistic Director Mary Stallings has performed with an incredible list of artists over her career, including Louis Jordan, Wes Montgomery, Ben Webster, Red Mitchell, Earl Hines, Cannonball Adderley, and a host of others. Inspired by her Fridays at Five streaming concert with the Bill Charlap Trio this week, we take a brief look back at some of her most memorable and important collaborations.

1. Dizzy Gillespie

With her rich tone, expert timing and innate sense of swing, Stallings had already established a reputation around San Francisco as a singer on the rise by her early 20s. Trumpeter and bebop pioneer Dizzy Gillespie heard about Stallings while performing at the city’s revered Blackhawk nightclub in the early 1960s, and invited the singer to sit in. This out-of-the-blue moment was the first step in an important musical relationship, culminating in her star-making appearance with Gillespie at the 1965 Monterey Jazz Festival. Years later, after Stallings had walked away from music to devote her time to her family, it was Gillespie who convinced her to come back out on the road, paving the way for her return to the spotlight. Hear her talk about meeting Gillespie in the video below.

2. Count Basie

The deeply swinging big band of Count Basie had a long-established history as a vehicle for the greatest singers in jazz and pop, among them Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Billy Eckstine, Joe Williams, Jimmy Rushing, and Sarah Vaughan. Stallings had a highly regarded three-year residency with Basie’s orchestra from 1969-1972, touring the world and driving the “Cadillac of big bands” with depth and authority. Following her time with Basie, Stallings left music behind to concentrate her efforts on raising her daughter, R&B singer Adriana Evans. Here’s a video of Stallings performing “This Girl’s In Love With You” with the Basie orchestra in 1971.

3. Cal Tjader

Starting her career singing gospel and R&B, Stallings made her jazz recording debut at the age of 22 on Cal Tjader Plays, Mary Stallings Sings, the 1961 Fantasy album she co-led with the iconic Bay Area vibraphonist. With a program heavy on Duke Ellington and classic standards like “It Ain’t Necessarily So” and “God Bless the Child,” the album features heavyweight instrumentalists Clare Fischer and Paul Horn and set Stallings on the path as a major young voice in jazz.

4. Eric Reed

After Stallings returned to singing at the behest of Dizzy Gillespie, she recorded a pair of Concord albums in the early 90s accompanied by the trio of pianist Gene Harris, followed by various recordings with a revolving cast of musicians. In 2001 the vocalist released her spectacular live date Live at the Village Vanguard with a band featuring modern piano master Eric Reed – a composer, arranger and Music Director who would become Stallings’ most important collaborator of the 2000s. Stallings and Reed worked together on four sessions including her 2010 High Note debut Dream, 2012’s Don’t Look Back and But Beautiful from 2013.

5. Geri Allen

In 2005 Stallings worked with late piano virtuoso Geri Allen on the singer’s Half Note release Remember Love, on which Allen did quadruple duty as pianist, organist, producer and arranger. Brought to life by a band including trumpeter Wallace Roney, saxophonists Frank Wess and Vincent Herring, bassist Daryl Hall and drummer Billy Hart, Allen’s sophisticated arrangements of standards including “Centerpiece,” “What a Difference a Day Makes” and “Dindi,” put Stallings’ powerful voice in a decidedly contemporary setting.

Originally posted March 28, 2018