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Mary Stallings: Songs Were Made to Sing

By Dave Linn
June 30, 2023
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One of eleven children, Mary Stallings was born in San Francisco in 1939. In her teens, she began singing in San Francisco night clubs and performed with

Ben Webster

saxophone, tenor
1909 - 1973

" data-original-title="" title="">Ben Webster,

Earl Hines

piano
1903 - 1983

" data-original-title="" title="">Earl Hines,

Red Mitchell

bass
1927 - 1992

" data-original-title="" title="">Red Mitchell,

Teddy Edwards

saxophone, tenor
1924 - 2003

" data-original-title="" title="">Teddy Edwards, and

Wes Montgomery

guitar
1923 - 1968

" data-original-title="" title="">Wes Montgomery. Before graduating from high school, she joined R&B singer

Louis Jordan

saxophone, alto
1908 - 1975

" data-original-title="" title="">Louis Jordan's Tympani Five. In the early '60s, she performed with

" data-original-title="" title="">Dizzy Gillespie at both the Black Hawk nightclub and the 1965 Monterey Jazz Festival.

Her debut album was Cal Tjader Plays, Mary Stallings Sings (Fantasy, 1961). It turned out to be her last recording for 29 years. Even though she still toured with Gillespie, and

Billy Eckstine

vocals
1914 - 1993

" data-original-title="" title="">Billy Eckstine, it was after a three-year residency with the

Count Basie Orchestra

band / ensemble / orchestra

" data-original-title="" title="">Count Basie Orchestra from 1969 to 1972 that she decided to stop performing. In 1972, in semi-retirement, she gave birth to her only child, R&B singer Adriana Evans. She added, "I also stopped performing because I was fed up and knew that I had no more heart for it at that time. I thought that was going to be the end of it." After continual prodding by friends and musicians, she came back and recorded Fine and Mellow (Clarity Recordings, 1990).

Songs Were Made To Sing is her tenth album since then, and her first for Smoke Sessions Records. It opens with

Oliver Nelson

saxophone
1932 - 1975

" data-original-title="" title="">Oliver Nelson's "Stolen Moments," a bright, classic song which begins a record of looking back on life and the choices that one has made (see YouTube video below). Right away, her husky, warm, weary voice tells us, even after heartache, it was all worth it. She is accompanied on the album by a superb band, featuring

Eddie Henderson

trumpet
b.1940

" data-original-title="" title="">Eddie Henderson,

Vincent Herring

saxophone, alto
b.1964

" data-original-title="" title="">Vincent Herring,

David Hazeltine

piano
b.1958

" data-original-title="" title="">David Hazeltine,

David Williams

bass
b.1946

" data-original-title="" title="">David Williams and

Joe Farnsworth

drums
b.1968

" data-original-title="" title="">Joe Farnsworth. The rhythm section plays with empathy and subtlety throughout. Henderson and Herring get ample opportunity to contribute.

"Lover Man" has a soft, wistful feel, with a Latin sound to it. "Blue Monk" is a mid-tempo blues with Stallings testifying that "Life is a school, unless you're a fool, and the learning brings you pain." Her phrasing is impeccable and filled with compassion. Another

Thelonious Monk

piano
1917 - 1982

" data-original-title="" title="">Thelonious Monk tune, "Round Midnight" is performed in a beautiful, pensive manner with Henderson getting a chance to shine. As with other tracks on the record, she takes an old warhorse tune and makes it her own.

The songs here are mainly ballads or mid-tempo pieces. "Prelude to A Kiss" is an exception; it starts full throttle with Farnsworth working the high hat. However, when Stallings enters, she sings it as a mid-tempo ballad. The counterpoint between the band's enthusiasm and her more tempered reading of the lyric is very effective. Herring gets his chance to blow, while moving between the tempos. She sings, "Give Me the Simple Life" as an autobiography, accompanied only by Hazeltine on piano, while

Stanley Turrentine

saxophone, tenor
1934 - 2000

" data-original-title="" title="">Stanley Turrentine's "Sugar" is sung as a funky, blues jaunt with Herring taking the tenor role.

This album was released just before the pandemic. About that time Stallings said, "Since the shutdown, I've gone back and listened to some things, old recordings, and thought, my God, how I've grown. As you get older, you lose some of your chops. But your storytelling takes over because you're speaking of your life's experiences. It deepens. And that's what it's supposed to be about. I'm all about telling the story, and my story's even stronger, because of the things I've lived. It's all in the music; all these things are in the music. I've been in this business a long time, and I can tell you that this music is spiritual. You give from your soul."

The album title comes from the song, "While We're Young." It is a bouncy, uplifting tune, extolling the hope and joy of youth. It contains the lyric, "Songs were made to sing, while you're young." The great news here is that singers were made to sing at any time. At the seasoned age of 80, her voice is in remarkable condition. She explained,

Sonny Stitt

saxophone
1924 - 1982

" data-original-title="" title="">Sonny Stitt took me under his wing and taught me how to breathe correctly. He said, 'If you use these techniques, your voice will always stay youthful and fresh."

Mary Stallings shows us that she should be mentioned in the same breath as

Sarah Vaughan

vocals
1924 - 1990

" data-original-title="" title="">Sarah Vaughan,

Carmen McRae

vocals
1920 - 1994

" data-original-title="" title="">Carmen McRae and

Betty Carter

vocals
1929 - 1998

" data-original-title="" title="">Betty Carter. The pianist,

Eric Reed

piano
b.1970

" data-original-title="" title="">Eric Reed once said about Stallings, "If you want to talk about jazz, with its subtleties and intricacies, the storytelling and the harmonies, there isn't a woman alive who sings better." On Songs Were Made To Sing, she lives up to that hype.

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Track Listing

Stolen Moments, Lover Man, Blue Monk, Ill Wind, While We're Young, Lady Bird, When I Close My Eyes, Prelude to a Kiss, Third Time Is the Charm, 'Round Midnight, Soul Mates, Give Me the Simple Life, Sugar.

Personnel

Mary Stallings

vocals

Eddie Henderson

trumpet

Vincent Herring

saxophone, alto

David Hazeltine

piano

David Williams

bass

Joe Farnsworth

drums

Daniel Sadownick

percussion

Additional Instrumentation

Daniel Sadownick: percussion (2, 6).

Album information

Title: Songs Were Made to Sing | Year Released: 2019 | Record Label: Smoke Sessions Records

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Mary Stallings Concerts

Nov 20 Thu

Mary Stallings featuring the Aaron Goldberg Trio

Dizzy's Club
New York, NY

Nov 21 Fri

Mary Stallings featuring the Aaron Goldberg Trio

Dizzy's Club
New York, NY

Nov 22 Sat

Mary Stallings featuring the Aaron Goldberg Trio

Dizzy's Club
New York, NY

Nov 23 Sun

Mary Stallings featuring the Aaron Goldberg Trio

Dizzy's Club
New York, NY

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