Editing Sarah Vaughan (section)

===1945–1948: Early solo career ===
[[File:Sarah Vaughan - William P. Gottlieb - No. 2.jpg|thumb|left|At [[Café Society]], September 1946|344x344px]]
Vaughan began her solo career in 1945 by freelancing on [[52nd Street (Manhattan)|52nd Street]] in New York City at the Three Deuces, the Famous Door, the Downbeat, and the [[Onyx Club (New York City)|Onyx Club]]. She spent time at Braddock Grill next to the Apollo Theater in Harlem. On May 11, 1945, she recorded "[[Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)|Lover Man]]" for Guild with a quintet featuring Gillespie and Parker with [[Al Haig]] on piano, [[Curly Russell]] on double bass, and [[Sid Catlett]] on drums. Later that month, she went into the studio with a slightly different and larger [[Dizzy Gillespie|Gillespie]]/[[Charlie Parker|Parker]] aggregation and recorded three more sides.

After being invited by violinist [[Stuff Smith]] to record the song "Time and Again" in October 1945, Vaughan was offered a contract to record for [[Musicraft Records|Musicraft]] by owner Albert Marx, although she would not begin recording as a leader for Musicraft until May 7, 1946. In the intervening time, she recorded for Crown and Gotham and began performing regularly at [[Café Society]] Downtown, an [[racial integration|integrated]] club in New York's [[Sheridan Square]].

While at Café Society, Vaughan became friends with trumpeter [[George Treadwell]], who became her manager. She delegated to him most of the musical director responsibilities for her recording sessions, allowing her to concentrate on singing. Over the next few years, Treadwell made changes in Vaughan's stage appearance. Aside from a new wardrobe and hair style, she had her teeth [[Crown (dentistry)|capped]], eliminating a gap between her two front teeth.

Her recordings for Musicraft included "[[If You Could See Me Now (1946 song)|If You Could See Me Now]]" (written and arranged by [[Tadd Dameron]]), "[[Don't Blame Me (Dorothy Fields and Jimmy McHugh song)|Don't Blame Me]]", "[[I've Got a Crush on You]]", "[[Everything I Have Is Yours (song)|Everything I Have Is Yours]]" and "[[Body and Soul (1930 song)|Body and Soul]]". With Vaughan and Treadwell's professional relationship on solid footing, the couple married on September 16, 1946.

In 1947, Vaughan performed at the third Cavalcade of Jazz concert held at [[Wrigley Field (Los Angeles)|Wrigley Field]] in Los Angeles that was produced by [[Leon Hefflin, Sr.]] on September 7, 1947. The [[Miguelito Valdés|Valdez Orchestra]], The Blenders, [[T-Bone Walker]], [[Slim Gaillard]], [[Joe Liggins|The Honeydrippers]], [[Johnny Otis|Johnny Otis and his Orchestra]], [[Woody Herman]], and the [[Johnny Moore's Three Blazers|Three Blazers]] also performed that same day.<ref>"Starry' Day at Cavalcade of Jazz", ''Los Angeles Sentinel'', September 4, 1947.</ref>

Vaughan's recording success for Musicraft continued through 1947 and 1948. Her recording of "[[Tenderly]]"—she was proud to be the first to have recorded that [[jazz standard]]<ref>Said by Sarah Vaughan herself [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNi6M_A9AzU in her introduction to singing "Tenderly" Live in Sweden in 1958] (on Youtube).</ref>—became an unexpected pop hit in late 1947. Her December 27, 1947, recording of "[[It's Magic]]" (from the [[Doris Day]] film ''[[Romance on the High Seas]]'') found chart success in early 1948. Her recording of "[[Nature Boy]]" from April 8, 1948, became a hit around the time the popular [[Nat King Cole]] version was released. Because of a second recording ban by the musicians' union, "Nature Boy" was recorded with an [[a cappella]] choir.