Today marks the release of Brad Mehldau Trio’s new album, Blues and Ballads, which comprises interpretations of songs by other composers, this time with the focus on blues and ballads implied by the album’s title. "Stellar jazz pianist Mehldau again proves that three is the magic number," says MOJO in a four-star review, "resurrecting the trio that has consistently advanced the jazz lexicon in the course of the past 20 years. A spellbinding set whose salient features are subtlety and understatement. Sublime stuff." The Times of London, in its five-star review, says: "Yet another rhapsodic rollercoaster from this master of romantic complexity."

Legendary New Orleans musician Allen Toussaint's final recording, American Tunes, is out on Nonesuch Records next Friday, June 10. But you don't need to wait till then to hear it: the album is streaming in full here till then as an NPR First Listen. The album presents "an almost retrospective, autumnal focus on the ideas which made him and his music," writes NPR's Patrick Jarenwattananon. "It's hard not to read a subtext here: that all these songs belonged in the canon which gave rise to Toussaint and his city, and thus to the bigger picture of important American tunes." Hear the album in full here.

Sleeping In A Car, a three-song EP from the English trio The Staves, is out now. The EP was recorded in Eau Claire, WI, at Justin Vernon's April Base studio and also at Urchin Studios in London. Physical CDs of the EP will be available exclusively on the Staves' North American tour, which begins June 3. The sisters said of the EP: "These songs reflect the transient nature of travelling. 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." You can watch a video for the title track here.

Violence and Orchids, the vinyl edition of Michael Daves's new album, Orchids and Violence, is out now. The vinyl edition comprises two versions each of five traditional bluegrass tunes: acoustic takes performed with a band of roots-music innovators paired with electric rock renditions of the same songs. It's "a roots-music master class, a brilliant example of old modes reinhabited with flair," says the New York Times. The LP includes a download of the complete Orchids and Violence album. Daves and friends will mark the vinyl release at Littlefield in Brooklyn on May 19.

Today marks the release of two new albums from guitarist, composer, and bandleader Pat Metheny on Nonesuch Records. Metheny is well-known as a musical collaborator, and both records feature friends and colleagues with whom he has worked for years. The Unity Sessions is taken from a filmed performance with Pat Metheny Unity Group that was recently released on DVD, and Cuong Vu Trio Meets Pat Metheny joins the guitarist with a trio led by longtime Pat Metheny Group trumpeter Cuong Vu.

Nonesuch Records releases Sleeping In A Car, a three-song EP from the English trio The Staves, on May 13, 2016. The EP was recorded at Justin Vernon's April Base studio in Eau Claire, WI, and at Urchin Studios in London. The Staves will embark on a North American tour beginning June 3, with stops in Minneapolis, Washington, Nashville, New York, and more, along with the Firefly, Newport, and Eaux Claires festivals. Sleeping In A Car is available to pre-order digitally; CDs will be available exclusively at the Staves' shows.

When Record Store Day took place earlier this month, included among the special releases were the first-ever vinyl edition of Clint Mansell's soundtrack to Darren Aronofsky's film Requiem for a Dream, featuring Kronos Quartet, and the first worldwide vinyl release of Emmylou Harris's groundbreaking, Grammy-winning album Wrecking Ball, produced by Daniel Lanois. Both albums are now available in the Nonesuch Store.

Record Store Day, the annual celebration of independent record stores, takes place this Saturday, April 16, and included among the special releases on that day are the first-ever vinyl release of Clint Mansell's haunting score to Darren Aronofsky's 2000 film Requiem for a Dream, performed by Kronos Quartet, and the first worldwide vinyl release of Emmylou Harris's Grammy Award–winning, Daniel Lanois–produced album Wrecking Ball.

Nonesuch releases American Tunes, a new studio album by legendary New Orleans musician Allen Toussaint, on June 10, 2016. Toussaint had just completed the album when he passed away in November of last year. Recording took place at two sets of sessions with producer Joe Henry: solo piano at Toussaint's New Orleans home studio, and with Jay Bellerose, David Piltch, Bill Frisell, Charles Lloyd, Greg Leisz, and guests Rhiannon Giddens and Van Dyke Parks in Los Angeles. There are works by Toussaint, Professor Longhair, Duke Ellington, Fats Waller, Paul Simon, and others. Nonesuch Store pre-orders include an instant download of the album track "Big Chief" plus an exclusive print.

Dois Amigos, Um Século de Música: Multishow Live, a live double album from Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, is out now in North America on Nonesuch. The recording documents a historic reunion from the legendary Brazilian singers, songwriters, and guitarists. Recorded during a concert in Brazil in 2015, the album celebrates a lifelong friendship over the half-century careers of two artists who have broken cultural, social, and political barriers through music. They kick off a US tour this weekend, with stops in LA, Oakland, Miami, and Brooklyn.

Nonesuch Records releases the Brad Mehldau Trio’s Blues and Ballads, the trio’s first new release since 2012’s Where Do You Start, on June 3, 2016. Blues and Ballads 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. Blues and Ballads is available to pre-order with an instant download of the album track "Little Person," which you can preview here.

Nonesuch releases a pair of new albums from guitarist, composer, and bandleader Pat Metheny on May 6, 2016. Metheny is well-known as a musical collaborator, and both records feature friends and colleagues with whom he has worked for years. The Unity Sessions is taken from a filmed performance with Pat Metheny Unity Group that was recently released on DVD, and Cuong Vu Trio Meets Pat Metheny joins the guitarist with a trio led by longtime Pat Metheny Group trumpeter Cuong Vu. Pre-orders of each include an instant download of a track from its album.