Creative Chemistry Cooks for Stallings, Trio

Sometimes the most compelling jazz moments occur in completely unplanned settings--jam sessions, unrehearsed gigs, last-minute bookings and the like. But they only can happen if the right players are present, if the creative chemistry between them bubbles and simmers with the right combination of ingredients.

Which was exactly what took place Tuesday night at Spazio in Sherman Oaks, when San Francisco singer Mary Stallings performed in the supper club back room with the trio of pianist Jon Mayer, bassist Bob Maize and drummer Frank Wilson. When the originally scheduled pianist, Gerald Wiggins, was unable to make the booking, Mayer filled in on short notice and the combination clicked almost immediately.

Starting out with a medium-tempo romp through “Exactly Like You,” Stallings and the Mayer Trio quickly found a compatible groove, driven by a loping, briskly swinging rhythmic drive that allowed her to soar freely overhead. Halfway through the tune, Maize answered Stallings with a crisply melodic solo of his own, articulately expressed, always remaining in contact with the phrase of the song.

Other, similarly impressive numbers followed, spontaneously chosen on the spot. (“This is what jazz is really all about,” said Stallings.) “Star Eyes” surfaced with a trace of bossa nova, and Duke Ellington’s classic “I’m Beginning to See the Light” was rendered as a slow, sensual ballad, illuminating facets of the tune not always seen in more up-tempo renderings.

It was also an example of how on-the-spot interpretations can sometimes turn up with pure gold. As “I’m Beginning to See the Light” kicked off, Mayer initially added some soft chording. But Stallings immediately realized that the atmosphere she was seeking would be better served by the sound of voice and bass alone. She signaled Mayer to drop out, and the first 16 bars were delivered with her voice arching through Maize’s harmonically suggestive bass lines. When the piano and drums finally entered in the middle portion of the tune, the effect was marvelously dramatic, an instant, unplanned arrangement.

The slender, dark-haired Stallings, who has been singing since the ‘60s with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie and Cal Tjader (among many others), has never really received the recognition her talent warrants. Along with Rene Marie, Karrin Allyson, Kendra Shank and others, she is part of a rapidly emerging group of female vocalists who are bringing new, imaginative ideas to a field that was beginning to sound worn and predictable.

Her impressive appearance at Spazio, which was scheduled to be followed by a performance on Wednesday night at the Westin Hotel in Long Beach, clearly set the stage for a longer, more in-depth Southern California booking.