Petra Haden: Petra Goes to the Movies

Musical genes come without genre when you’re a Haden. Petra’s jazz bassist father began as Little Cowboy Charlie in the family country band before going on to play with Ornette Coleman and form the Liberation Music Orchestra and Quartet West. Her brother Josh leads the moody rock group Spain, and her sisters Rachel and Tanya (the three Haden daughters are triplets) are eclectic pop artists too. Haden, 41, plays violin, but her stunning vocals—and use of them—set her most apart. In 2005, after having played in That Dog (with Rachel) and made a solo debut, Imaginaryland, and a duo album with guitarist Bill Frisell, Haden rocked the world with her totally a cappella rendering of The Who Sell Out. Here, she combines that a cappella methodology (layered vocals emulating instruments from strings to horns to percussion, and achieving orchestral grandeur) with straight-ahead lyric singing and guest instrumentals (Frisell, dad Charlie, and pianist Brad Mehldau appear) to interpret film scores and movie songs dear to her heart. On 16 tracks, including music from Goldfinger, Bagdad Café, A Fistful of Dollars, Superman, Psycho, and The Social Network, her pitch-perfect execution—rendered deep and vivid in the detailed mix—is technically dazzling and emotionally thrilling. And lots of fun, too.