Rhiannon Giddens was on NPR’s All Things Considered to discuss her book debut, Build a House, and her song that inspired it. The illustrated book, out now on Candlewick Press, was inspired by, and features the lyrics of, a song she wrote and recorded with Yo-Yo Ma to commemorate Juneteenth in 2020. Both the book and song tell the story of an enslaved family that will not be moved, and the music that sustains them. You can hear what Giddens told NPR’s Ailsa Chang about it here.

Tyondai Braxton has shared a preview video of the first studio recording of Telekinesis—an eighty-seven-piece work for electric guitars, orchestra, choir and electronics—due November 11 on New Amsterdam / Nonesuch Records. The album features the Metropolis Ensemble conducted by Andrew Cyr, the Brooklyn Youth Chorus conducted by Dianne Berkun Menaker, and chamber choir The Crossing conducted by Donald Nally.

Laurie Anderson is the guest on the latest episode of the new CNN podcast All There Is with Anderson Cooper, a personal exploration of loss and grief. On the new episode, Anderson reflects on the death of her husband Lou Reed. They also discuss her 2015 film Heart of a Dog, a personal essay on joy and heartbreak and remembering and forgetting, which she made following the death of her beloved dog Lolabelle. You can hear their conversation here.

Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau, Christian McBride, Brian Blade begin their European tour in Switzerland, Germany, and Luxembourg. Sam Amidon, Marc Ribot are in Newport and NYC. Timo Andres celebrates Ingram Marshall in NYC. Joachim Cooder performs the Dead in Vancouver. Emmylou Harris is in Texas. Kronos Quartet is in Irvine CA. Makaya McCraven plays in Portland and San Francisco. Cécile McLorin Salvant tours France and Spain. Caroline Shaw, Roomful of Teeth join NY Phil at David Geffen Hall. Chris Thile is in Budapest and Vienna. Molly Tuttle returns to Grass Valley, CA.

Guitarist/composer Mary Halvorson has released a video of her performing her song "Night Shift" live with a newly formed sextet of master improvisers—Patricia Brennan on vibraphone, Nick Dunston on bass, Tomas Fujiwara on drums, Jacob Garchik on trombone, and Adam O’Farrill on trumpet—at Roulette in Brooklyn on September 8, 2021. The performance took place just three days before the musicians recorded the piece for Amaryllis, one of Halvorson’s two Nonesuch debut albums, along with Belladonna, released this past May. You can watch it here.

Tom Skinner has released “The Journey,” the latest single from his forthcoming new album, Voices of Bishara, out November 4, as well as a live performance video of the track, featuring himself on drums and percussion, Tom Herbert on acoustic bass, Kareem Dayes on cello, Chelsea Carmichael and Robert Stillman on tenor saxophone, and Paul Camo on samples. You can hear the new song and watch the video, filmed last month at St. Luke’s Church in West Holloway, London, here.

"A lot of the music I write, I write at the piano first," Makaya McCraven tells WBUR's Here & Now in a chat with producer Chris Bentley about his new album, In These Times. "But then also sometimes I am writing in more technological ways, where I might be sampling myself or something that happened. And then it's like, 'how do I put this all together? How do I make it cohesive?' And then that becomes a hurdle, and the hurdle becomes a space for me to become creative." You can hear their conversation here. McCraven is now touring the US, with shows in Colorado, Oregon, California, Washington, and New Mexico through October.

The Blue Hour, a song cycle collaboration among composers Rachel Grimes, Angélica Negrón, Shara Nova, Caroline Shaw, and Sarah Kirkland Snider, is out now on New Amsterdam / Nonesuch Records. The piece was commissioned and performed by the chamber orchestra A Far Cry, who are joined by singer Shara Nova. Set to excerpts from Carolyn Forché’s epic poem On Earth, the music follows one woman’s journey through the liminal space between life and death via thousands of hallucinatory and non-linear images. You can take a quick look inside the album here.

Rhiannon Giddens is joined by Allison Russell in conversation in Hartford then kicks off her Carnegie Hall Perspectives series in Weill Recital Hall with Francesco Turrisi. John Adams is performed by NY Phil in David Geffen Hall and by Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. The Black Keys are in Houston. Jeremy Denk plays Brahms with Fairfax Symphony Orchestra. Gabriel Kahane joins St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Kronos Quartet is in Oakland. Mariza sings at SFJAZZ. Makaya McCraven kicks off his tour in Vancouver. Punch Brothers play festivals in Georgia and Florida. Cécile McLorin Salvant is in France and Belgium. Vagabon is in Toronto and joins Jason Isbell at the Ryman in Nashville.

Singer, songwriter, and guitar player Molly Tuttle has unveiled a new live performance video for "Dooley's Farm," a song she co-wrote with Ketch Secor for Crooked Tree, the debut album with her band, Golden Highway. The video was filmed during their sold-out release show at Nashville’s legendary Station Inn this past spring, celebrating the acclaimed new album. Tuttle and the band were joined by Jerry Douglas, who co-produced the album with her. You can watch it here.

"Finally bringing this recording to your ears, after so many years ... is a tremendous exhale and a collective accomplishment made possible by many small and many giant acts of generosity," Shara Nova writes in a new essay about the creation of The Blue Hour, a song cycle collaboration among composers Rachel Grimes, Angélica Negrón, Caroline Shaw, Sarah Kirkland Snider, and Nova, who performs the piece with the commissioning chamber orchestra A Far Cry on the album out this Friday.

Rhiannon Giddens’s book debut, Build a House, is out today on Candlewick Press. The picture book was inspired by, and features the lyrics of, a song she wrote and recorded with Yo-Yo Ma to commemorate Juneteenth in 2020. A newly recorded version of “Build a House” with Ma and Francesco Turrisi is also out today on Nonesuch; you can watch the video here. Giddens will read the book and perform at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum October 13 and The Grammy Museum in LA October 22. Her Carnegie Hall Perspectives concerts begin October 15; her opera Omar with Michael Abels debuts at LA Opera October 22.