NEW ON CD

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SOVEREIGN ARTISTS Bill Frisell and Petra Haden have made an excellent duet album.

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Collection of duets
beautifully combines
2 artists’ many talents

If the two names above aren't familiar to most, their collaborative effort released nationwide today will make a perfect introduction to their musical talents.

"Petra Haden and Bill Frisell" (Sovereign Artists)

Haden is a fine singer-songwriter-violinist who had some success as a member of the indie-pop trio that dog during the mid- to late-'90s. Her father is the great jazz bassist Charlie Haden, who guitarist Frisell has known through their common jazz background.

Frisell's fret work has distinguished itself over the years for its filigreed, textural sound, sensitively blending rock and country with jazz, blues and electronica loops. Because of that, Frisell has been known to work with other venturesome artists, such as Elvis Costello, Rickie Lee Jones, Marianne Faithfull and U2's Bono.

So it's no surprise that he would team up with the like-minded Haden on this excellent duet project.

With production help from Frisell's longtime producer Lee Townsend, the 12 tracks collected here all have a quiet musical intensity, buoyed by Haden's lovely voice and supportive violin playing.

Two original compositions, the instrumentals "The Quiet Room" and "Throughout," have a meditative quality.

Much of the album consists of covers, ranging from standards to some surprising contemporary choices. It says something of their combined talents that they can take such near-hoary ol' songs as "Moon River," "When You Wish Upon a Star" and "I've Got a Crush on You," and polish them to a sweet and tender glow.

Of the more recent songs, they pay tribute to the late Elliott Smith with the opening "Satellite," followed by a languid take on the Foo Fighters' "Floaty," which emphasizes writer Dave Grohl's strong sense of melody.

Two of the better covers are a good-humored "I Don't Want to Grow Up" that gives the Tom Waits song an around-the-campfire quality, and an open-hearted version of Stevie Wonder's "I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)."

Haden and Frisell have truly made a gem of an album.