The Black Keys played a MySpace Secret Show last night at Cleveland's Beachland Ballroom and Tavern, the site of their first-ever show six years ago, and the Cleveland Plain Dealer says the Akron-based duo is "white-hot" following the release of Attack & Release, their "lushest" album yet.

"There is a paucity of quality female vocalists in the music charts today," writes the New Zealand Herald in a review of k.d. lang's performance last night at Auckland's Aotea Centre. While there is certainly no lack of pop starlets, says the review, for quality, "one woman stands alone." That would be k.d., who "enraptured the audience with her remarkable vocal range." Her live performance of tunes from Watershed was "pitch-perfect and soulful."

Bill Frisell introduced his new quintet to European audiences at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival on Sunday, and, writes The Times, it was "the highlight" of the four-star event. The Telegraph says Frisell offered his trademark "beautifully shaped lick," bringing the set into focus with his "favourite territory of musical Americana, with blues and bluegrass and Miles Davis alongside Frisell's own compositions." All About Jazz says Bill "comes up trumps again" with his new album. "It's a delight of the first order."

Kronos Quartet was joined by Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq at Disney Hall in Los Angeles Saturday for a night of premieres. The Los Angeles Times writes: "The playing all evening was passionate and superb. If ever an ensemble has found a fountain of youth, it is this one." Variety says that "even after three decades of continuous activity, the Kronos Quartet continues to come up with fresh ideas from out of the blue." As examples, he points both to Saturday's program and the group's recording of The Cusp of Magic.

"The first poignant tones make it clear that trumpeter Nicholas Payton is hitting a sweet spot on his new CD," says the Philadelphia Inquirer in its 3.5-star review of Payton's Nonesuch debut, Into the Blue, a blend of "dreaminess with some serious playing."

Nicholas Payton recently performed at the New Orleans JazzFest; it was in that city, his hometown, where Payton recorded his Nonesuch debut, Into the Blue, last fall. The Washington Post says the new album "boasts relaxed, self-assured performances" and calls it "a summing-up of sorts, an album that recalls some of Payton's previous acoustic and fusion-inspired work yet manages to sound fresh and inspired---even surprising."