Timo Andres’ new album, The Blind Banister, is out now on Nonesuch. The album comprises three works by the composer/pianist: the piano concerto The Blind Banister (a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2016), with Andres as soloist, and Upstate Obscura for chamber orchestra and cello, with soloist Inbal Segev—both of which feature Metropolis Ensemble and conductor Andrew Cyr—and the solo piano piece Colorful History, also performed by Andres.

Ringdown, the duo featuring creator-musicians Danni Lee and Caroline Shaw, has released "Two-Step," its first single via Nonesuch Records. With strings, keys, and synth melodies rippling around a crisp beat and Danni Lee’s vocals, “Two-Step” channels the technicolor rush of falling in love. “‘Two-Step’ is about letting go of your inner critic and trusting your own intuition,” says the duo. “It’s about forward momentum toward things that feel good. It’s about trusting that sometimes what may seem like a wrong turn could be the best route you’ve ever taken. Also dancing. It's about dancing.”

Pianist/composer Tigran Hamasyan stopped by for the Nonesuch Selects video series, in which artists visit the Nonesuch office, pick some of their favorite albums from the music library, and share a few words on their choices. He chose music by Brad Mehldau Trio, Richard Goode, Pat Metheny & Brad Mehldau, Kronos Quartet, and Fleet Foxes.

"Tamko is a first rate singer-songwriter, parsing interpersonal relationship dynamics with frankness and a dry wit," writes KCRW's Marion Hodges of Vagabon (aka Laetitia Tamko), who stopped by KCRW to perform six songs from her new album, Sorry I Haven't Called, and one from her 2019 self-titled album. Tamko also spoke with KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic host Novena Carmel about the new album and more. You can watch the performance and conversation here.

Brad Mehldau’s After Bach II and Après Fauré are due May 10 on Nonesuch Records. The Bach album comprises four preludes and one fugue from the Well-Tempered Clavier, as well as the Allemande from the fourth Partita, interspersed with seven compositions or improvisations by Mehldau inspired by the complementary works of Bach—including Mehldau’s Variations on Bach’s Goldberg Theme. On Après Fauré, Mehldau performs four nocturnes, from a thirty-seven-year span of Gabriel Fauré’s career, as well as a reduction of an excerpt from the Adagio movement of his Piano Quartet in G Minor. Here Mehldau’s four compositions that Fauré inspired are presented in a group, bookended by two sections featuring the French composer’s works.

Bolivian-born singer and multimedia performer Ibelisse Guardia Ferragutti and Chicago expat jazz drummer Frank Rosaly will release MESTIZX, their debut full-length album as co-composers, arrangers, and musicians, May 3 on International Anthem / Nonesuch Records. Partners in both marriage and art, the Amsterdam-based duo dove deep into the sounds of their respective ancestral roots in Bolivia, Brazil, and Puerto Rico to create this deeply personal meditation on decolonization and the defiant power of ritual and protest.

The 2024 Big Ears Festival is next week, taking place in venues throughout downtown Knoxville, TN, March 21–24, with more than a dozen Nonesuch artists past, present, and future performing as part of the label's 60th anniversary celebrations. In addition to all of the music and film offerings, Big Ears also hosts a number of artist conversations with music journalists Ann Powers and Nate Chinen, including talks with Sam Amidon, Laurie Anderson, Darcy James Argue, Rhiannon Giddens, Mary Halvorson, Robin Holcomb, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Brad Mehldau, Davóne Tines, and Yasmin Williams.

Haitian-American singer and composer Nathalie Joachim stopped by WNYC Studios in New York City to talk with New Sounds’ Soundcheck host John Schaefer and perform three songs from her new album, Ki moun ou ye: "Kenbe m," "Kouti yo," and the title track. You can hear the conversation and live set and watch the performances here.

The Black Keys have debuted the third track off their upcoming album, Ohio Players, out April 5: "This Is Nowhere," written by Dan Auerbach, Patrick Carney, and Beck. The track follows the album single “Beautiful People (Stay High)” and the band's rendition of William Bell's "I Forgot To Be Your Lover." 

"Rhiannon Giddens is one of those people where I feel like they have to start inventing new awards, because she's already won all of them," Song Exploder host Hrishikesh Hirway says of his guest. On the latest episode, Giddens talks about "You Louisiana Man," breaking down the song from her new album, You're the One. You can hear what she had to say about it here.

Following Kronos Quartet’s historic 50th-anniversary season, longtime members John Sherba (violin) and Hank Dutt (viola) will retire from the ensemble at the end of June. Dutt joined Kronos in 1977; he and founder David Harrington (violin) recruited Sherba to join the group in 1978. Between now and the end of June, Sherba and Dutt will perform more than 20 shows with Harrington and cellist Paul Wiancko, who joined the quartet in 2023, culminating at the ninth annual Kronos Festival at the SFJAZZ Center. Kronos will enter its sixth decade with two new members: violinist Gabriela Díaz and violist Ayane Kozasa will join Harrington and Wiancko.

Julia Bullock is on the latest episode of the Criminal podcast to talk with host Phoebe Judge about singer/songwriter Connie Converse on this year's 50th anniversary of Converse's disappearance. "'One by One' is about seeking connection in times when maybe you're feeling isolated and acknowledging that you are in communion with other people, even in times of great despair," Bullock says of the Converse song, which she sings on her Grammy Award–winning debut solo album, Walking in the Dark. "Sometimes I'm struck with searing emotion while singing her songs, which in some ways is sort of surprising, because it's not like the melodies are really demanding, but I think she found this extraordinary way to release emotion."