The title of
The Art of the Song should signal that the album is not the average effort from
Charlie Haden. Instead of the adventurous instrumental post-bop that is his stock-in-trade,
The Art of the Song finds him concentrating on songs, going so far to feature
Shirley Horn and
Bill Henderson on lead vocals on four songs apiece. As it turns out, it's not a great departure -- there's a moody, evocative tone that ties together his later works -- but it is enough to make
The Art of the Song a distinctive, engaging work from an utterly original jazz musician. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine