Joshua Redman, whose latest album, Walking Shadows, was released this week, kicks off a tour of Europe with his Quartet, featuring Aaron Goldberg on piano, Reuben Rogers on bass, and Gregory Hutchinson on drums in Le Mans, France, tonight, followed by additional stops in France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, and Germany. Redman also heads to the UK to perform with bassist Christian McBride at Wigmore Hall in London. He returns to the States for a June 4 show at NYC's Town Hall with the quartet featured on Walking Shadows—Brad Mehldau, Larry Grenadier, Brian Blade—and an orchestra.

Walking Shadows, Joshua Redman’s first recording to include an orchestral ensemble, is out now. Its core ensemble is a quartet featuring Brad Mehldau, who produced the album, Larry Grenadier, and Brian Blade. Walking Shadows includes original tunes from both Redman and Mehldau along with works by a wide range of composers, like John Mayer and Pino Palladino, Kern and Hammerstein, and Lennon and McCartney. The album is "never less than exceptionally beautiful," exclaims Buffalo News, an "unmitigated triumph ... one of the jazz discs of the year." MusicOMH concurs, suggesting this "gorgeous" album "will prove to be one of the year’s most satisfying jazz listens."

Sam Amidon is set to make his Nonesuch Records debut with the release of his album Bright Sunny South on May 14. But you don't need to wait till then to hear it. The album is streaming in full all this week exclusively at Pitchfork as part of its Advance multimedia early-listen experience. Amidon will perform songs from the new album at NYC's (Le) Poisson Rouge on May 16, followed by a European tour of headline shows and festival sets, and returning to the States to tour in June.

Devendra Banhart kicks off a six-week tour of the United States and Canada this weekend, featuring music from his recently released Nonesuch debut album, Mala. The tour begins with two shows in Colorado this weekend and heads next to Arizona and to the West Coast for a run up California, Oregon, and Washington; then to the Midwest, Canada, and the East Coast, culminating in a concert at The Town Hall in New York City on June 12. Banhart begins a five-week tour of Europe on June 26.

The schedule for this summer’s Lincoln Center Out of Doors festival has been announced. Featured among its 100 free performances in the plazas of NYC's Lincoln Center is Kronos at 40, curated in collaboration with Kronos Quartet to mark its 40th anniversary. This five-day "festival within a festival" launches the larger festival on July 24 and includes 28 concerts and events with daily appearances by Kronos plus performances by other artists. Kronos Quartet performs at Carnegie Hall this Friday, May 3, and will receive an honorary degree from Seattle's Cornish College of the Arts later this month.

Iron and Wine was featured on the latest episode of NPR's All Things Considered. Singer-songwriter Sam Beam, whose fifth album under that pen name, Ghost on Ghost, was released on Nonesuch Records / 4AD earlier this month, spoke with host Melissa Block about the new album, his songwriting process, and the cohesive feel that ties the songs together. 

Bombino is featured on the latest episode of the BBC World Service program Outlook, which explores "extraordinary personal stories from around the world." "Traditional music is one of the forces which has united the Tuareg people who are now scattered across many African countries," says host Matthew Bannister, "and that music has been updated for a new generation by the guitarist Omara 'Bombino' Moctar." On the show, Bombino discusses the power of music to affect change. "I hope my songs can present part of a solution," he says. "The guitar can pass on the news."

The new musical of Here Lies Love, which explores the life of Imelda Marcos, with concept and lyrics by David Byrne and music by Byrne and Fatboy Slim, has opened to rave reviews and Outer Critics Circle and Drama League award nominations. "Boogie on down—and you must—to the glittery new dance palace at the Public Theater," implores the New York Times, to hear this "insidiously infectious set of songs." Vogue calls it "a life-giving, roof-raising, booty-shaking blast of pure joy from start to finish." The Daily News exclaims: "Finally—a new musical that’s so exhilarating and such a great time that it’s easy to recommend it without hesitation." The New York Observer declares Here Lies Love "the must-see event of the season." 

Iron and Wine was the musical guest on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on Friday night. Singer-songwriter Sam Beam and his band gave what Consequence of Sound calls a "spirited rendition of 'Grace for Saints and Ramblers,'" a track off the new album Ghost on Ghost. They also gave a web-exclusive performance of another album track, "Grass Widows." Watch both performances here.

Iron and Wine is the musical guest on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on NBC tonight at 12:35 AM. Sam Beam and his band perform “Grace for Saints and Ramblers,” off the just-released album Ghost on Ghost. Beam stopped by New York public radio station WNYC yesterday to perform a few songs from Ghost on Ghost on Soundcheck and talk with host John Schaefer about the new album, which was recorded over two weeks in Brooklyn. You can listen to the complete episode, including solo acoustic performances of three album tunes, here.

The 2013 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, aka Jazz Fest, gets under way today as the first of two consecutive weekends of music unfolds. Included among this weekend's performers are Joshua Redman with his Quartet and New Orleans native sons Dr. John and Allen Toussaint. The Black Keys help close out the festival next weekend. Also in New Orleans this weekend is Fatoumata Diawara, who performs at the House of Blues. 

Bombino brought his European tour, featuring music of his new album, Nomad, to London's Village Underground last night, where the crowd cheered the Tuareg guitarist "as if he were a rock star," reports the Guardian in a four-star review. Bombino's "performance from the start was energetic and full-tilt ... He was clearly enjoying himself, and his enthusiasm was contagious." The Independent, previewing the concert, describes Bombino as "brilliant" and Nomad as "a bone-shaker of a new album." The tour continues in Europe then heads to the States in late May for headline dates, festival sets, and opening spots with Amadou & Mariam, Gogol Bordello and Robert Plant.