Caetano Veloso's US tour continues at LA's Greek Theatre Thursday after a set of what the New York Times calls "typically tuneful and smart" music in New York and one in DC. L.A. Weekly sees Veloso's latest album, zii e zie, as a "rewarding reinvention" of conventional sounds. KTVU in San Francisco, where Veloso heads Saturday for SFJAZZ, calls him a "living legend of Brazilian music."

Here Lies Love, the David Byrne / Fatboy Slim album on the life of Imelda Marcos, was released last week; this evening, Byrne will sign copies at the MoMA Store in New York. The New York Times's Jon Pareles adds the album to his Playlist, citing "the limber, catchy music" and its "irrepressible pop choruses." Time says the album puts "a winning twist on the 'album musical' tradition." The New York Post calls the collaboration "a fine marriage."

Afrobeat drumming legend Tony Allen makes his World Circuit / Nonesuch debut with Secret Agent, out today. The album is "pure Afrobeat," says the Boston Globe, "the liquid grooves, the conscious themes, the horn arrangements, and Allen’s complicated drumming." Slant gives four-and-a-half stars to this "vital, insistently probing work," calling it "joyful, colorful, uplifting music [that] finds the best in all its influences, leaving us with a daring assemblage of styles that's impossible to adequately define."

Caetano Veloso does DC ... Laurie Anderson plays four nights in Sweden ... the Assads go back to their roots ... The Black Keys headline Yuri's Night Bay Area ... Bill Frisell has four nights at Yoshi's Oakland ... Richard Goode plays Detroit ... Kronos is in residence at Duke ... The Low Anthem is in Toronto ... Brad Mehldau Trio too ... Pat Metheny plays three shows in Florida ... Punch Brothers make music in Montana ... Rokia Traoré begins US tour ... Wilco ends one ... and more ...

Here Lies Love, David Byrne's song-cycle collaboration with Fatboy Slim, is out now. Byrne discussed the project on the BBC World Service program The Strand, which calls it "wonderful"; it was also Album of the Day on BBC Radio 6 Music. Newsday gives the album an A-, calling it "an amazing piece of work" and "a thrilling success." The AP describes the album as "a magnificent sonic treat ... an epic, thrilling tale brimming with hair-raising harmonies, sumptuous beats and unexpected duets." It receives four stars from the Daily Mirror and Daily Express, which calls it "excitingly original."

David Byrne and Fatboy Slim's Here Lies Love is out now. The Financial Times calls it "both intelligent and highly entertaining." The Times (UK) gives it four stars, saying, "The pair's navigation of the narrative is impeccable." The Boston Globe calls it "a sumptuous two-disc feast of harmony, melody, and Latin-accented grooves." The Washington Post's Express Night Out cites "its considerable impact and surprising emotional resonance." The Star-Ledger calls it "instantly enjoyable." The Huffington Post proclaims: "The talent gathered here was spot-on."

Wilco's current tour, An Evening with Wilco, may be fully sold-out, but that doesn't mean you'll have to go without. Tune in to the band site for live webcasts of Tuesday's show from Boston and Wednesday's show from Concord, New Hampshire. Relix described the tour opener as "a spirited rock-and-roll blowout." You can also enjoy Wilco live via the forthcoming vinyl release of Kicking Television: Live in Chicago.

The Brad Mehldau Trio began a four-night residency at Yoshi's in Oakland last night. Mehldau recently returned to the US after an extensive European tour and kicked things off with a solo show at Largo in LA. The Los Angeles Times says any solo set from Mehldau "promises to be an adventurous treat" and finds the pianist to be "at the peak of his powers," calling his latest album, Highway Rider, "one of the most striking jazz releases of the year."

Ali and Toumani, the second and final collaboration between the late Malian guitarist Ali Farka Touré and kora master Toumani Diabaté, was released earlier this year to critical acclaim and has now made its way to the top of the World Music Charts in Europe. The Mail & Guardian calls it "a masterpiece." The New Zealand Herald gives it five stars, calling it "stunning" as does Jambase. Sonic Boomers finds it to be "an achievement of brilliance."

David Byrne's Here Lies Love—a collaboration with Fatboy Slim and nearly two dozen vocalists—is out now. Earlier this year, Byrne spoke with CNN about his craft while at the TED Conference, in a just-published video. The Daily Telegraph gives Here Lies Love four stars, calling it "inspired ... a headily atmospheric and inspired combination of humid, late-Seventies, early-Eighties Latin-tilted beats and lyrics you actually want to think about."

The Low Anthem tours West Coast ... John Adams leads all-Adams program in Paris ... Carolina Chocolate Drops do Black Banjo Gathering ... Christina Courtin opens in NYC ... Bill Frisell plays Baghdad/Seattle Suite in New Mexico ... Kronos takes A Chinese Home to Notre Dame ... The Magnetic Fields bring Realism to Berlin ... Brad Mehldau plays Mexico City ... Portland, Maine, hosts Chris Thile and Punch Brothers sets ... Allen Toussaint plays Bern Jazz Fest ... Wilco continues sold-out tour ... and more ...

Brad Mehldau's Highway Rider has been named a CD Pick of the Week by WNYC's Soundcheck, which finds its title "as cinematographic as the music: Highway Rider." The Boston Herald gives it an A-, saying, "Mehldau’s aim seems to be nothing less than the integration of chamber music and jazz, a goal he pretty much achieves." The Ottawa Citizen gives it four stars, calling it "riveting ... There's probably not another jazz recording that sounds quite like it."