A traditional jazz quartet rooted in the sounds, styles and history of jazz, Sophisticated Lady brings a fresh approach to this music. With a mix of original compositions and new interpretations of classic repertoire this quartet has a sound and aesthetic that is both familiar and new. The quartet pays homage to the Great Tradition of American jazz but most of their repertoire is written by members of the quartet. Unlike the majority of contemporary jazz recordings, which are carefully and surgically perfected in postproduction, this album remains raw and fresh. These tracks are complete takes, “live to tape”, without editing.

"Simpler Times" follows Sophisticated Lady's highly acclaimed self-titled debut album. The music on this recording is how Sophisticated Lady plays without the help of digital magic. The quartet rehearsed and performed some of these tracks before our recording but at least half are the first time through; the quartet discussed the tunes and who would take what solo in which order but without rehearsal. This is possible when superb musicians tackle new material together, listening carefully to each other and playing as a single organism. Some melodies, played for them on the piano right before our take and the quartet improvised from there. Music cannot get fresher than this.