As 2016 draws to a close, and the Nonesuch Journal takes a bit of a hiatus till the start of 2017, it's time to take a look back and remember all of the great and diverse music made by Nonesuch artists over the past year. Many Nonesuch artists and their recent Nonesuch releases have made music critics' and fans' year-end best lists. Here, in words and music and in chronological order, is a look back at the year in Nonesuch music.
As 2016 draws to a close, and the Nonesuch Journal takes a bit of a hiatus till the start of 2017, it's time to take a look back and remember all of the great and diverse music made by Nonesuch artists over the past year. Many Nonesuch artists and their recent Nonesuch releases have made music critics' and fans' year-end best lists. Here, in words and music and in chronological order, is a look back at the year in Nonesuch music:
JANUARY
Henryk Górecki
Symphony No. 3 LP | Symphony No. 4 | A Nonesuch Retrospective
The new year in Nonesuch music began with a celebration of the life and work of the late Polish composer Henryk Górecki in the simultaneous release on January 22 of the first vinyl edition of the beloved 1992 Nonesuch recording of his Symphony No. 3, featuring the London Sinfonietta and soprano Dawn Upshaw; the first recording of his final composition, Symphony No. 4, Tansman Episodes, with the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Andrey Boreyko; and A Nonesuch Retrospective, a seven-disc box set all of the Nonesuch recordings of his works. Gramophone calls Górecki's final work "a powerful and personal farewell from one of the 20th century’s most distinctive voices."
FEBRUARY
Rokia Traoré connected with producer John Parish (PJ Harvey, Tracy Chapman) for Né So (Home), her sixth album, which was released on February 12. The album comprises 10 original songs plus a cover of Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit" and features guest performances by John Paul Jones and Devendra Banhart, along with Burkinabe drummer Moïse Ouattara, Ivorian bassist Matthieu N’guessan, and Malian ngoni player Mamah Diabaté. NPR calls Né So a "gorgeous new album" from a "fantastically gifted" artist. The Times says: "Traoré has made the album of her career." Uncut raves: "Brave, challenging and arrestingly original, Traoré may just have gone and made the finest indie-rock album to emerge from arguably the world's most musical continent." Damon Albarn Studio 13 remixed the album track "Sé Dan" for release as a digital single on November 4.
Né So has made the lists of the Best World Music Albums of the year for MOJO and PopMatters, which calls it "beautiful and moving."
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Lianne La Havas released new music on February 12 as well, on Blood Solo, an EP of five tracks and an interlude from her Grammy Award–nominated second album, Blood, plus a new song, "Fairytale," performed solo. Pitchfork called the earlier album, released in 2015, "dynamic and poignantly self-assured in its introspection … an almost seamless album."
La Havas released a digital single, on August 12, of a solo acoustic performance of the beloved Burt Bacharach / Hal David song "Say a Little Prayer," recorded live on tour in Belgium in 2016.
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Lake Street Dive made its Nonesuch Records album debut with the release of Side Pony on February 19. The band—drummer Michael Calabrese, bassist Bridget Kearney, singer Rachael Price, and guitarist/trumpeter Michael "McDuck" Olson—worked with Nashville-based producer Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell) on the new album. The title refers to a whimsical hairstyle but also serves as a metaphor for the band's philosophy and personality. "A band steeped in Motown Soul, Beatles melodies, and pop divas from Dusty Springfield to Adele," says Rolling Stone, "the retro vibe rules, vividly captured by producer Dave Cobb … pretty irresistible."
The Fort Worth Star-Telegraph placed Side Pony at No. 2 on its list of the year's best albums (second only to Beyoncé's Lemonade). WFUV named it among the Top 50 Albums of the Year and the album tracks "Call Off Your Dogs" and "Mistakes" among the Top 90 Songs. Listeners of NPR Music's All Songs Considered voted Side Pony one of their Favorite Albums of 2016. NPR's own Mountain Stage chose the band's performance of the album track "Call Off Your Dogs" as one of its Favorite Performances of the year on the show, and Paste magazine named them one of the 25 Best Live Acts of 2016.
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Michael Daves
Orchids and Violence
Michael Daves, who had released a duo album on Nonesuch with Chris Thile, Sleep With One Eye Open, in 2011, made his own Nonesuch debut with the release of Orchids and Violence on February 26. The album comprises two discs with identical track listings of mostly traditional bluegrass tunes, including songs by bluegrass pioneers Bill Monroe and Ralph Stanley. The first disc has acoustic takes with a band of roots-music innovators: bassist Mike Bub, violinist Brittany Haas, mandolinist Sarah Jarosz, and Punch Brothers banjoist Noam Pikelny. The second includes bass, drums, and electric guitar, mostly played by Daves, with an experimental rock take on those tunes. "The identical track listing makes for a good comparison study," says the New York Times, "and to his credit, it can be hard to pick which version of a tune is best."
The vinyl edition of the album, called Violence and Orchids, was released on May 6, and, instead of separating the two versions of the songs on different discs, pairs them next to one another.
APRIL
Caetano Veloso + Gilberto Gil
Dois Amigos, Um Século de Música: Multishow Live
Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, the two legendary, Grammy Award–winning Brazilian singers, songwriters, and guitarists, released a live double album, Dois Amigos, Um Século de Música: Multishow Live, in the United States on April 8. Recorded during a concert in Brazil in 2015, it celebrates a lifelong friendship over the half-century careers of two artists who have broken cultural, social, and political barriers through music. The Guardian says: "They are now in their early 70s, and they are still remarkable." Jazzwise calls it "a glorious celebration of Brazilian music, the art of the singer-songwriter, and an enduring friendship." NPR says: "It's almost startling to encounter music like this—refined to an essence, simple, graceful and complete."
Dois Amigos, Um Século de Música has been nominated for a Grammy Award for Best World Music Album. It is included on PopMatters' list of the Best World Music Albums of 2016.
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Clint Mansell + Kronos Quartet
Requiem for a Dream [Soundtrack] [2LP]
Record Store Day, the annual celebration of independent music shops around the world, brought the first-ever vinyl edition of Clint Mansell's haunting score to Darren Aronofsky's 2000 film Requiem for a Dream, performed by Kronos Quartet, on April 16. The album, pressed on two 180-gram LPs, features the original soundtrack, remastered for the release, plus two previously unreleased bonus tracks, as well as a download of the complete album, and newly commissioned artwork by Simon C Page.
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Emmylou Harris
Wrecking Ball [3LP]
Record Store Day 2016 also brought the first worldwide vinyl release of Emmylou Harris's groundbreaking, Grammy Award–winning album Wrecking Ball, complete with additional bonus material. This new edition, pressed on three 180-gram discs, includes the original Daniel Lanois–produced album, remastered, along with several bonus tracks first released on the 2014 three-disc Nonesuch reissue of the album, which Uncut called "a masterpiece."
MAY
Cuong Vu Trio + Pat Metheny
Cuong Vu Trio Meets Pat Metheny
Pat Metheny joined with the trio led by longtime Pat Metheny Group trumpeter Cuong Vu on a new album, Cuong Vu Trio Meets Pat Metheny, released on May 6. It comprises five tunes written by Vu plus one by Metheny and one by Andrew D'Angelo. "Cuong Vu Trio Meets Pat Metheny is a complete success," exclaims All About Jazz, "a treat for fans of both musicians."
The album landed on the PopMatters and Glide lists of the Best Jazz Albums of 2016.
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Pat Metheny
The Unity Sessions
May 6 brought another release from Pat Metheny: The Unity Sessions. The album is taken from a filmed performance with Pat Metheny Unity Group—Chris Potter on sax and bass clarinet, Antonio Sanchez on drums, Ben Williams on bass, and multi-instrumentalist Giulio Carmassi—first released on DVD in 2015. The set comprises 13 songs by Metheny, one he co-wrote with Ornette Coleman, and one well known standard by Ray Noble. The Times of London exclaims: "It's brilliant."
Glide includes The Unity Sessions among the Top Ten Jazz Albums of 2016.
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The Staves released a three-song EP, Sleeping In A Car, on May 13, as a follow-up to the English trio's acclaimed 2015 Nonesuch debut If I Was. The EP was recorded at Justin Vernon's April Base studio in Eau Claire, WI, and at Urchin Studios in London. "These songs reflect the transient nature of travelling," says the trio. "Fleeting moments, like a slide show—reflections in car windows, streetlights passing in rhythm, stolen phone calls, late nights. Feelings of displacement and a disconnect—living in some sort of alternate state of reality. But underneath it all is the feeling of adventure and making your own rules and how dizzying and freeing that can be."
JUNE
Brad Mehldau Trio
Blues and Ballads
The Brad Mehldau Trio released Blues and Ballads, its first new release since 2012's Where Do You Start, on June 3. The new album comprises interpretations of songs by other composers, this time with the focus on blues and ballads implied by the album’s title, including works by Cole Porter, Charlie Parker, Lennon & McCartney, and Jon Brion. "A spellbinding set whose salient features are subtlety and understatement," Mojo exclaims. "Sublime stuff." The Times of London says it's "sublimely satisfying." The New York Times calls it "beautiful."
Brad Mehldau has been nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Improvised Jazz Solo for his take on the Cole Porter tune "I Concentrate on You" on the album. Blues and Ballads landed on the lists of the Best Jazz Albums of 2016 from Jazzwise, PopMatters, Glide, Record Collector, NPR Music jazz critics, Slate ("confirms his standing as the bluesiest of balladeers"), and the Los Angeles Times ("one of his trio's loveliest, most immediate outings yet").
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Allen Toussaint
American Tunes
Nonesuch released American Tunes, the final recording from legendary New Orleans musician Allen Toussaint, on June 10. Produced by Joe Henry, it features both solo piano recordings and others made with musicians like Jay Bellerose, Bill Frisell, Greg Leisz, Charles Lloyd, David Piltch, and special guests Rhiannon Giddens and Van Dyke Parks. There are works by Toussaint, Professor Longhair, Duke Ellington, Fats Waller, Paul Simon, and others. The Los Angeles Times says it's "a rich pianistic tour de force of American music." The Times of London calls it "gorgeous," exclaiming: "Swan songs don't get any better."
American Tunes was included among the Best Albums of 2016 by the Sunday Times of London, Mother Jones, and Uncut. NPR Music chose the album track "Mardi Gras in New Orleans" as one of the Top 100 Songs of the year.
SEPTEMBER
Brazilian samba singer Teresa Cristina began what would be a very music-filled month at Nonesuch, releasing Canta Cartola, an album and DVD recorded live in concert at Theatro Net in Rio de Janeiro with guitarist Carlinhos Sete Cordas, on September 2. The album captures their acoustic performance of songs by Brazil's beloved samba-ist Angenor de Oliveira ("Cartola"). "Canta Cartola feels fully embodied," says the New York Times, "as if Ms. Cristina had written the songs herself." Caetano Veloso, who toured with Cristina this year, exclaims: "Teresa develops every melody, every word, every second. It's magical."
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Portuguese singer Mariza made her Nonesuch Records debut with the release of her latest album, Mundo, in the United States on September 9. Mundo had earned her the Songlines Best Artist of the Year award following its international release in 2015. The album features both new material and classics by Amália Rodrigues, Carlos Gardel, and more. "Mundo was an unalloyed triumph," says Songlinges, "her artistry hitting dynamic new heights and her voice expressing every emotional nuance, whether singing a gentle and intimate lullaby for her young son or melodramatically letting rip on the high notes with the force of an operatic diva."
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Joshua Redman + Brad Mehldau
Nearness
Longtime friends and collaborators saxophonist Joshua Redman and pianist Brad Mehldau made their recorded duo debut with the release of Nearness on Nonesuch on September 9. The album was recorded live on tour in Europe in 2011. "The pair are so well matched," says BBC Music Magazine in a five-star review. "Both are extraordinary, scintillating improvisers bursting with energy, yet they have great ears for one another." Mojo says: "They create a special telepathic musical synergy in each other’s company."
Nearness has been nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album. It is among the Best Jazz Albums of 2016 according to Glide and to NPR Music's jazz critics, and Jazzwise includes it among the Albums of the Year ("outstanding ... it’s all about serving the song and playing in the moment.")
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Randy Newman
Songbook Vol. 3 + The Randy Newman Songbook
Nonesuch released the third volume in the Randy Newman Songbook series, featuring solo recordings of songs from throughout Randy Newman's five-decade career ("a peerless canon," says Uncut), including 16 tunes, like "Short People," "Mama Told Me Not to Come," "I Love L.A.," and "You've Got a Friend in Me," on September 23. The album was produced by Mitchell Froom and Newman's lifelong friend and colleague Lenny Waronker.
On the same day, Nonesuch also released the complete Randy Newman Songbook in a four-LP box set, marking the first vinyl release of the series. The first two volumes are joined by the songs of the third volume, along with five bonus tracks, in a new, thematic sequencing. "He is arguably North American music’s greatest living storyteller, and his talent shines brightly here," says the Daily Mail in a perfect five-star review. "If anything, his character studies are even sharper in this simpler format."
The Randy Newman Songbook was released in a three-CD set on December 16. Record Collector included it among the Best Reissues of 2016.
In between the two box sets' releases, Randy Newman released a digital single, "Putin," on October 12. The song will be released on a vinyl 7" single with the Songbook version of "A Few Words in Defense of Our Country" on Inauguration Day, January 20, 2017.
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Gipsy Kings
The Best of the Gipsy Kings [2LP]
Nonesuch released the first-ever vinyl edition of The Best of the Gipsy Kings on September 23. It features the popular collection on two 140-gram LPs. The initial success of this 18-track compilation, chronicling the first seven years of the group’s Nonesuch career, illustrated just how popular the Gipsy Kings had become: It held the top spot on the World Music charts for a full year.
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Kronos Quartet
Pieces of Africa [2LP]
The first-ever vinyl edition of Kronos Quartet's Pieces of Africa, featuring the acclaimed album on two 140-gram LPs, was also released on September 23. This “potent new brew of folk influences, Minimalism, and European forms by eight black, brown, and white African composers,” as Time described it, became a cross-cultural and commercial landmark: the first album to top both the classical and world music Billboard charts.
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Emmylou Harris
Red Dirt Girl [2LP]
The first-ever vinyl edition of Emmylou Harris's Red Dirt Girl, featuring the legendary singer's Grammy-winning Nonesuch debut album on two 140-gram LPs, was released on September 23 as well. On the album, Harris, dubbed "the most captivating female artist ever in country music" by the Los Angeles Times, offers her first set of self-penned material. Says the New York Times, "In songs about lonely journeys and lost companions, Ms. Harris has found herself."
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Devendra Banhart
Ape in Pink Marble
Singer/songwriter/guitarist Devendra Banhart released his ninth album, Ape in Pink Marble, on September 23. He produced, arranged, and recorded the album in Los Angeles with his longtime collaborators Noah Georgeson and Josiah Steinbrick, both of whom also worked on his 2013 album, Mala. Q gives the album four stars; Uncut calls it "excellent."
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Closing out the music-filled month, the first recording of composer John Adams's dramatic symphony Scheherazade.2 was released on September 30. The piece imagines a modern day Scheherazade, an "empowered, liberated spirit embodied in the multifaceted solo violin role," he says. His "cinematic music goes a long way in unfolding a potent drama, masterfully illuminated by conductor David Robertson and the St. Louis Symphony," says NPR. "The fierceness and vulnerability [violinist] Leila Josefowicz expresses contributes to an award-caliber performance." Scheherazade.2 "sets a whole new standard for narrative and theatrical vibrancy," exclaims the San Francisco Chronicle.
Leila Josefowicz has been nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo for her performance on the recording. The New Yorker's Alex Ross includes the album on his list of the Notable Recordings of 2016.
OCTOBER
At the start of 2016, Conor Oberst found himself hibernating in his hometown of Omaha after living in New York City for more than a decade. He emerged with the unexpectedly raw, unadorned solo album Ruminations, released October 14 on Nonesuch. Oberst went to ARC, the studio he built with his Bright Eyes bandmate and friend Mike Mogis, and, with the help of engineer Ben Brodin, recorded all the songs within 48 hours. The results are almost sketch-like in their sparseness: Oberst alone with his guitar, piano, and harmonica; the songs connect with some of the rough magic and anxious poetry that first brought him to the attention of the world, while their lyrical complexity and concerns make it obvious they could only have been written in the present.
Ruminations has been named among the Best Records of the Year by the Sunday Times of London, American Songwriter ("mature, self-aware masterpieces"), WFUV, and listeners of NPR Music's All Songs Considered. WFUV included the track "Tachycardia" among the year's best as well.
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Nico Muhly + Teitur
Confessions
Confessions, a collaboration between acclaimed American composer Nico Muhly and Faroese singer/songwriter Teitur, was released on October 21. The lyrics, inspired by or culled from video and commentary the pair found on YouTube, are simple, matter-of-fact, fragmentary, funny, and strange, yet they attain a dignity paired with the gorgeous and expressive music, composed and arranged for Holland Baroque, which performs it on the album. Gramophone calls it "brilliantly witty, strangely compelling ... subtly affecting."
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The Metropolitan Opera
Lulu [Blu-ray/DVD]
Nonesuch released The Metropolitan Opera's performance of Alban Berg's Lulu on Blu-ray and DVD together in one package on October 28. The Met's production, directed by acclaimed South African visual artist William Kentridge, premiered in 2015 and starred Marlis Petersen in her final performances as Lulu, a role she has made "hers and almost hers alone" (Opera News). The performance seen here was recorded and broadcast live in movie theaters around the world as part of The Met: Live in HD on November 21, 2015. "A stunning and searing production," exclaims the New York Times.
Kentridge's production was performed at the English National Opera in early November to rave reviews, making the year-end-best lists of the Sunday Times and the Observer ("first-class music-making).
DECEMBER
Conor Oberst
"Tachycardia" / "Afterthought"
Rounding out the year, Conor Oberst released a single featuring a new full-band recording of "Tachycardia," a song on his 2016 solo album, Ruminations, paired with "Afterthought," an unreleased track from the Ruminations recording sessions. The single, first released for Record Store Day Black Friday 2016 on limited-edition, black 7" vinyl, became available digitally on December 9.
AND SO, THE YEAR IN MUSIC
AND MORE ...
There is, of course, more great music to come in 2017. Pre-orders are already available for Randy Newman's Inauguration Day vinyl 7", "A Few Words in Defense of Our Country" b/w "Putin"; Chris Thile and Brad Mehldau's self-titled debut duo album; Rhiannon Giddens's new album, Freedom Highway; The Magnetic Fields' 50 Song Memoir; and pianist/composer Tigran Hamasyan's An Ancient Observer.
All of the 2016 albums above may be purchased in the Nonesuch Store, where all currently released albums (pre-orders excluded)—on CD, LP, MP3, FLAC, HD, and merch—are 15% off the everyday low prices listed on the site through New Year's Day in celebration of the store's eighth anniversary; final discount is shown at checkout.
Happy Holidays from everyone at Nonesuch Records!
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