Lalah Hathaway, the daughter of incomparable soul man Donny Hathaway, can sing it all: pop, gospel and rhythm 'n' blues, but tonight through Sunday at the Manchester Craftmen's Guild, she'll be singing jazz as she pays tribute to Shirley Horn and Sarah Vaughan.

The concert is part of the Guild's new season, which began in September with performances by James Moody and Little Jimmy Scott and ends in May with the dynamics of Pittsburgh pianist Ahmad Jamal.

But tonight belongs to Hathaway, who emerged from the shadow of her late father in the early 1990s with a self-titled release, and over the years has collaborated with everyone from Mary J. Blige and Marcus Miller to Stevie Wonder and the late Grover Washington Jr.

"I am really looking forward to the performances," said Hathaway from her home in Los Angeles. "I know they are calling it a tribute to Shirley and Sarah, but for me it's more of a tribute to the great songs that they are associated with. I am trying to choose the best songs for the show. I love singing the standards. I love a lot of the music from that era that they chose to sing. It's important that those songs live on."

Hathaway said she's likely to perform songs like "My Funny Valentine" and "Here's to Life."

"When Shirley died, she was the last great one," said Hathaway. "She was a great singer, and it's a honor to perform in this tribute because I am all about sowing those seeds they planted for us. I've done a great deal of tributes and covers in my career. For me, it's my way of thanking them and the masters of songwriting. These songs have lasted for a hundred years."

Hathaway, who is working on new project scheduled for release earlier next year, recently signed with the reformed Stax Records and participated in an all-star project for Stax that celebrated the music of Earth, Wind & Fire.

She said the new recording, which hasn't been titled, will feature all original material.

"I've been working really hard on the recording," said Hathaway, who also said she received a great deal of support from executives at Stax. "It's really exciting to be with Stax. My dad was never signed to Stax, but I've been in contact with a lot of his peers, people like Mavis Staples, and that makes me really proud. It also make me feel like I am in the right place."

Hathaway always knew she was going to be a singer. Growing up in Chicago, she was surrounded by music. Her mother is a classically trained singer and her father, who died in 1979, is probably best known for his duets with Roberta Flack.

"Coming up was really normal and natural," she said. "I never decided I was going to become a musician because it was something that I always just did. We were always involved in music, and it never was not a part of my everyday life.

After completing Chicago's Performing Arts High School, Hathaway moved to Boston where she graduated from Berklee School of Music.

Following the release of her critically acclaimed self-titled album on Virgin Records, she moved to Los Angeles. After releasing, "A Moment," she went on to record "Love Like This" with Grover Washington Jr. She has also performed and recorded with David Sanborn, Wayman Tisdale and Hiram Bullock.

"Music is who I am. There's been ups and downs and disappointments and triumphs."