The Art of the Song is an album by American jazz bassist Charlie Haden and his Quartet West, released in 1999. It reached number ten on the Billboard Top Jazz Albums chart.

Quartet West was formed in 1986. Their repertoire consisted mainly of music from the 1930s and 1940s, often music associated with films of that period.

Guest vocalists Bill Henderson and Shirley Horn each perform four songs.

The orchestral accompaniment written for Shirley Horn of Leonard Bernstein's "Lonely Town", won Alan Broadbent a Grammy Award.

John Sharpe in All About Jazz wrote, "The Art Of The Song is an evocative collection of sombre ballads, immaculately performed..." while Richard S. Ginell of Allmusic writes "Frankly, this sounds like the work of a weary musician."

Charlie Haden Quartet West

Guest musicians

Orchestra

Production notes

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