Good news for fans of The Magnetic Fields unable to make one of their three sold-out shows at New York City's Town Hall in February: a fourth show has been added! On Sunday, February 24, 2008, the group will play one more night in NYC before heading to San Francisco for their next tour dates. Tickets for the newly added show will be available beginning today at 12 PM EST.

After kicking off the California leg his of US tour last night in Santa Cruz, Youssou N'Dour will make two more stops in northern California before heading down to Los Angeles this Saturday. Gearing up for the concert at UCLA's Royce Hall, the Los Angeles Times praises Youssou's "inimitable vocals, with their seductive timbral span" and argues that "a pretty convincing case could be made for N'Dour as one of the world's most visible and successful international artists."

The New Music Collective out of Charleston, South Carolina, begins its season this Sunday with a program called New Music, New Charleston, which will include a performance of Steve Reich's Electric Counterpoint by area guitarist David Linaburg, along with two world premieres of works by local composers. 

Youssou N'Dour resumes his North American tour tonight at the Rio Theatre in Santa Cruz, California. On Friday, he makes his way to San Francisco for the season finale of 25th Annual SF Jazz Festival. "N'Dour shows that he has lost neither charm nor youthful energy," says SF Weekly of his new album, Rokku Mi Rokka (Give and Take). "The rhythmically rich music works like a frame around his high-pitched voice, and the music is able to captivate even the most jaded listener, world music fan or otherwise."

Last night, Pat Metheny played the last in a string of dates in South Africa with the trio from his upcoming Nonesuch release, Day Trip—bassist Christian McBride and drummer Antonio Sanchez. The Independent (South Africa)'s entertainment guide, Tonight, reports that the Sunday show in Durban was "the gig we were all itching for." After hearing the trio perform songs from Day Trip and others, the site declares: "'Gig of the year' was the general pronouncement."

This Friday night, Alarm Will Sound will make its Stanford University debut with the world premiere of John Adams's Son of Chamber Symphony, which the composer wrote for the innovative ensemble. Adams's first Chamber Symphony received its world premiere at The Hague in 1993. Also on Friday's program at Stanford's Dinkelspiel Auditorium are works by Conlon Nancarrow, Michael Gordon, and Aphex Twin. 

The London Jazz Festival has come to a close, but not before Joshua Redman brought his virtuoso sax playing to Queen Elizabeth Hall. He and his trio—bassist Reuben Rogers, drummer Greg Hutchinson—performed a set that included songs from his latest album, Back East. "Possessing an endless fund of ideas, effortless fluency, muscular tone and an immaculate technique," says the Observer, "he must be the most perfect tenor saxophonist alive today, and on Thursday he demonstrated flawlessly sculpted phrases and total control of the instrument, to the very extremities of its range." The Financial Times says it was "a masterclass in controlled collective improvisation." 

Sérgio and Odair Assad performed in their first of three concerts as part of the Adelaide International Guitar Festival on Saturday. The Adelaide Advertiser says: "[They] performed a truly classical duet for acoustic guitars, interweaving, ornamenting, and supporting each other perfectly. Their program of South American pieces was highly expressive, showing masterful control of mood and tonal quality." Up next for the Assads at the Festival: two concerts this weekend with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra featuring Ravel's Rhapsodie Espagnole.

Caetano Veloso closed his latest tour in Miami Saturday night, featuring the music of his album Cê. The Broward-Palm Beach New Times calls him a "tour de force," marveling at "his ability to make your stomach quiver or tears well up in the corners of your eyes throughout his career." "Caetano Veloso is arguably the most sophisticated pop artist anywhere," says the Miami Herald. "Perhaps it's that open smile, still seductive after all these years. Or perhaps it's just the fact that he is so damn good."

This week, the New England Conservatory in Boston presents a two-day, four-concert mini-festival celebrating the music of Steve Reich. The composer will be directly involved in the events, leading rehearsals on Tuesday and working directly with Conservatory students in workshops on Wednesday. Kicking off the public events that night is a performance of Piano Phase. Closing the festival on Thursday night at Jordan Hall are two Boston premieres: City Life and Daniel Variations. The debut recording of the latter piece is due out on Nonesuch in early 2008.

"We were raised in a country where the borders between different types and styles of music are not very clear." So says Rio-born guitarist Sérgio Assad, in an interview with the Adelaide Advertiser. In their upcoming concerts with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, as part of the Adelaide International Guitar Festival, Sérgio and Odair Assad present Piazzolla's genre-bending piece Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, along with Rodrigo's Concierto Madrigal.

In the midst of a tour across the US, Caetano Veloso stopped for two nights in NYC, where he performed songs from throughout his career, focusing on his latest album, Cê, for packed crowds at the Nokia Theatre. "Lyrically, much of Cê is unabashedly carnal," says the New York Times. "Yet Mr. Veloso’s voice carries an abiding tenderness, and he sounded nearly as alluring on bitter new tunes (like 'Rocks,' a natural closer) as on vintage fare ('Sampa,' a natural singalong)."