1959 · Album
What a Diff'rence a Day Makes!
Arranged by: Belford Hendricks · Studio Album Number: Tenth
A Standard Perfected at Peak Power
By her tenth album, Washington had mastered the art of making a song feel inevitable, essential, and entirely her own.
By the time Dinah Washington recorded What a Diff'rence a Day Makes!, she was operating at the height of her powers—a singer who had already proven herself across jazz, blues, and pop, and who now commanded every room she entered. This tenth studio album finds her not searching for identity or breaking new ground, but doing something harder: perfecting what she does best. The title track became her signature hit, the song most people associate with her name, and it's easy to hear why. Washington's voice on that recording carries absolute certainty—no hesitation, no attempt to prove anything. She simply sings the standard with such clarity and emotional directness that it sounds like she wrote it.
Arranged by Belford Hendricks, the album sits comfortably in Washington's wheelhouse of sophisticated pop-jazz standards. By this point in her career, she had shed any need to chase trends or prove her jazz credentials. Instead, she worked with arrangers who understood how to frame her voice—not as one instrument among many, but as the center of gravity. Hendricks' work here is clean, supporting without ever overwhelming.
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings gave the album three and a half stars, acknowledging its quality while perhaps suggesting it occupies a particular lane rather than breaking into new territory. But that's precisely the point. What a Diff'rence a Day Makes! is the sound of a master vocalist at full confidence, backed by professional arrangements, delivering standards with the kind of ease that only comes from complete command of your instrument and your material.
Who's playing
Milt Hintondouble bass
Joe Zawinulpiano
Kenny Burrellguitar
Charles Davisbaritone saxophone
Jerome Richardsonflute
Panama Francisdrums
Where next?
More by Dinah Washington
All 35 albums →
The musicians on this record
Their own records, close in time
