The vocalist Sarah Vaughan, whose supple voice and flair for the theatrical earned her the nickname “Sassy,” recorded the album After Hours on this day (July 18) in 1961 for RKO-Pathe Studio. It was Vaughan’s first album recorded in the company of just guitar and bass, with Mundell Lowe and George Duvivier filling those roles, respectively.
Today’s Song of the Day is “Sophisticated Lady,” and the Duke Ellington classic gets a dreamy remake here courtesy of Vaughan’s smooth-as-silk vocals, which drape luxuriously over Lowe’s rippling guitar and Duvivier’s bowed bass. It’s quintessential Sassy, and it makes for a wonderful listen any time of the day.
