Brad Mehldau, Joshua Redman, Timothy Andres and others join forces for the world premiere of Mehldau's Rock 'n' Roll Dances No. 3 and 4 at Carnegie Hall and at the Sanders Theatre in Cambridge this weekend; Mehldau and Andres also perform excerpts from Andres's Shy and Mighty. The BBC says of Mehldau's "excellent" new album, Live in Marciac: "After repeated hearings, the music sounds as fresh as ever ... His music is so rich that at times it is possible to believe two players are at work." All About Jazz says it "stands out as a signpost on Mehldau's evolutionary path." PopMatters calls it "100 minutes of pure uninterrupted piano virtuosity" through which "Mehldau is able to show off the full scope of his sickening talents."

Wanda Jackson's new album, The Party Ain't Over, "secures Jackson's place as a 21st-century entertainer," says a new review from NPR's All Things Considered. Producer Jack White "cleverly matches Jackson's infamous vocal growl with huge arrangements, creating an instant party on the first track," says NPR. "White coaxes a performance from Jackson that fits her as well today as it did in 1958." Tune in to CMT's Insider this weekend for a look at the collaboration. Jackson performs at the Robson PAC in Claremore, Oklahoma, tonight to benefit the Akdar Shrine Center.

The Carolina Chocolate Drops' and Luminescent Orchestrii's performance of "Knockin'," off their self-titled, four-song EP, has been named Song of the Day by NPR. "Knockin'' is the perfect song to capture the two groups' individual and combined gifts," says NPR. It "offers a new way to hear the Carolina Chocolate Drops. The group has long bridged the sounds of American roots music for modern audiences, but between 'Knockin'' and 'Hit 'Em Up Style,' it's exciting to hear [Rhiannon] Giddens sing with so much verve and conviction."

Laurie Anderson's recent performance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon will be rebroadcast tonight on NBC. She performed an excerpt of "Another Day in America," off her album Homeland, with her male alter ego, Fenway Bergamot, contributing vocals. Prefix, in a recap of the performance, says: "Anderson’s command of drama is still palpable. Respek!" She speaks about her work with Robert Storr, dean of the Yale University School of Art, at New York's 92nd Street Y tonight.

Stephen Sondheim spoke with playwright Tony Kushner at New York's Public Theater last fall, upon the publication of Finishing the Hat, Sondheim's first-ever collected lyrics. The evening, part of the Public Theater's Public Form discussion series, was hosted by NEA chairman Rocco Landesman. You can now watch excerpts from the event in a new video from the Public, posted here. Sondheim will receive the Olivier Special Award in London this Sunday.

Nonesuch releases its first recording of music by Irish composer Donnacha Dennehy, Grá agus Bás, on May 3. The album includes the title piece, which translates as Love and Death, as well as the composer’s song cycle That the Night Come. The Dublin–based Crash Ensemble—which Dennehy co-founded—performs both works, conducted by Alan Pierson. Irish singer Iarla O’Lionáird is the soloist for Grá agus Bás; Dawn Upshaw is featured on That the Night Come. The album is currently available to pre-order here.

The Carolina Chocolate Drops and Punch Brothers will be among the performers at the first Dave Matthew Band Caravan, a series of three-day, multi-artist festivals taking place this summer. Atlantic City, New Jersey, will host this first Caravan, which will take place June 24–26 at Bader Field, formerly the site of the Atlantic City Municipal Airport. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, March 25.

Dan Auerbach's song "Going Home," off his debut solo album, Keep It Hid, provides the musical setting for a new short documentary video released today from the United Nations that calls attention to the crisis of internally displaced people in Eastern Congo. Today's video release coincides with the visit of UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos to the Congo. Watch the video here.

Wanda Jackson will perform at Rachael Ray's Feedback Party at the SXSW Music Festival in Austin next Saturday, March 19. She is the latest Nonesuch artist to join the SXSW line-up, joining Emmylou Harris and Jessica Lea Mayfield. Jackson comes in at No. 1 on the Prefix list celebrating "some of our personal favorite frontwomen, singers, songwriters, and icons" on International Women's Day. This Saturday, she will be featured on CMT's Insider.

Emmylou Harris's Hard Bargain, due out April 26, is now available for pre-order in the Nonesuch Store with an exclusive manuscript lyric sheet of the album's opening track, "The Road," a number of which will be autographed by Harris. On "The Road," Harris looks back on the formative time she spent with Gram Parsons at the beginning of her career. In April, Harris will perform at special intimate shows in Los Angeles and New York and on the Late Show with David Letterman.

Nonesuch will release the self-titled debut album from James Farm, a collaborative band featuring saxophonist Joshua Redman, pianist Aaron Parks, bassist Matt Penman, and drummer Eric Harland, on April 26. The band uses traditional acoustic jazz quartet instrumentation for its song-based approach to jazz and incorporates the members’ myriad of influences: rock, soul, folk, classical, and electronica, among many others. The band will be touring the U.S. this summer in support of the album.

Randy Newman's North American tour brought the singer-songwriter to the New York area for several performances, including Saturday's show at The Town Hall in New York City. Time Out New York exclaims: "The Town Hall is across the street from the Stephen Sondheim Theatre, whose namesake, along with Bob Dylan, gives this great American songwriter his only real competition." The Village Voice concurs, calling him "the greatest living songwriter not named something that rhymes with Smob Smylan."