Image supplied by Melbourne International Jazz Festival.
Mary Stallings, American jazz singer, could briefly be described in four words – the voice of experience! You could say her singing is a mix of Nina Simone, Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, Billie Holiday—the greats of Stallings’ era—but that wouldn’t be doing her particular style justice because it is, also, unique. Anybody who has ever wanted to be a singer knows that the lessons and the practice can go on for a lifetime to keep a level of perfection, the ability to effortlessly hold a perfect note and produce the words with clarity as well as feeling and passion.
When Stallings walked slowly, almost shyly, onto the stage of the Recital Centre, she seemed relaxed but not entirely comfortable. She delighted, a little later, to explain to the audience how much she loved to walk around and chat to them between songs, but that an uncomfortable shoe had made this difficult for her. The audience encouraged her to remove her shoes but, instead, she perched on a stool and, with only David Yudolf to accompany her on the piano, sang ‘Darling, You Send Me’.
The effect she had on her audience equalled that of Sarah Vaughan whom I once saw perform sitting on a stool for her entire show because she had broken her foot. It takes true presence to keep an audience enthralled without a lot of the movement and effects used by many singers today.
Stallings’ control of her voice, her phrasing and her special interpretation of songs, old and new, also place this consummate jazz singer alongside another great voice of experience, Tony Bennett, now in his eighties and still captivating his audiences with those well-honed techniques.
The accompaniment of Ron Belcher on bass and Aldra Tana on drums, excellent as it was, overwhelmed Stallings at times. It’s hard to imagine that the Recital Centre with its excellent acoustics, which worked so well for the instruments, had somehow missed out on adjusting the microphone well enough for Stallings, but there were times, especially in songs unfamiliar to me, that I found the words difficult to distinguish.
Fortunately, the medley of new songs like ‘I’m Not Finished Loving You’, written by Stallings’ son and daughter, came through clearly as the evening wore on and brought an encore of ‘All Night Long’ by a demanding and appreciative audience for a truly gracious singer, well-deserving of the Lifetime Achievement Award bestowed on her at the 2011 San Francisco Jazz Festival Gala.
The opening for the concert by the Jex Saarelaht Trio deserves a big round of applause here for three original pieces played with incredible sensitivity by Saarelaht on piano, Phil Rex on bass and Niko Schauble on drums.
The first, ‘Closing’, Saarelaht introduced with the fact that a thoracic surgeon friend told him he always played it before operating. The light capable touch of all three musicians would certainly make that story believable!
Rating: 4 ½ out of 5 stars
Mary Stallings supported by Jex Saarelaht Trio
Mary Stallings – voice
David Udolf – piano
Ron Belcher – bass
Akira Schauble – drums
Melbourne Recital Centre, Southbank
Melbourne International Jazz Festival
www.melbournejazz.com
5 June
