Tune in to The Tonight Show with Jay Leno tonight to catch k.d. lang and her band perform a song from her recent career retrospective, Recollection. "If an artist as great as Tony Bennett can refer to her as the best singer since Judy Garland," says the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, "you know she's got something special going on." Liz Smith calls the new album "sensational," explaining: "k.d. lets her art speak for itself, and it’s shouting mightily on Recollection. This is a masterpiece."

When Steve Reich turned 70 in 2006, the world's major concert halls celebrated with retrospectives of the composer's work. Included among them was the Barbican in London, which has just announced plans to celebrate Reich's 75th birthday next year with Reverberations: The Influence of Steve Reich, pairing four London premieres of new Reich compositions with music written by composers who have followed in his footsteps.

The Black Keys, due to release their sixth full-length album, Brothers, May 18 on Nonesuch, have added the album track "Tighten Up" to their MySpace page. The band reunited with producer Danger Mouse for this track and wrote, performed, and produced the rest of the album. Pitchfork notes "the soulful bounce of organ and guitar interplay" on the new tune. BBC Radio 1 says the song "adds a little sweet soul to their dynamic blues."

The Low Anthem, Carolina Chocolate Drops continue confab at SXSW ... John Adams is in Paris for Cité de la Musique Forum John Adams ... Laurie Anderson airs Amelia Earhart in Basel ... Louis Andriessen gets honorary doctorate in Birmingham ... Kronos closes Carnegie Hall Perspectives with Young Artists Concert ... The Magnetic Fields bring Realism to the UK ... Brad Mehldau solos in Netherlands ... Pat Metheny plays Orchestrion in Italy ... Signature Theatre celebrates Sondheim's 80th ... Chris Thile performs Mandolin Concerto in Delaware ... Allen Toussaint plays Rome ... Dawn Upshaw, Emanuel Ax perform in San Francisco ... and more ...

Natalie Merchant, whose Nonesuch debut album, Leave Your Sleep, is due out on April 13, will perform songs from the album at the PEN World Voices Festival's PEN Cabaret at New York City's (Le) Poisson Rouge on May 1. This year's PEN Cabaret will also include appearances by Booker Prize winner Ben Okri, Chilean story master Ariel Dorfman, and Georgian writer and performance artist Irakli Kakabadze. The PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature takes place April 26 through May 2.

Charlie Gillett, the BBC Radio 3 and BBC World Service presenter, has died, after a long illness, at the age of 68. Gillett was an ardent and longtime champion of many Nonesuch artists, helping to bring world music performers like Youssou N'Dour and Rokia Traoré to a wider audience. Traoré will appear on the BBC World Service program The Strand tonight to remember Gillett and reflect on his legacy.

"Please Don't," the first of six videos from the David Byrne / Fatboy Slim album Here Lies Love, is now on view at nonesuch.com/media. The track features vocals by Santigold, one of the many artists to contribute vocals to the album, which explores the life of former Philippine First Lady Imelda Marcos and her rise to power. "Please Don't" documents Marcos's use of "handbag diplomacy" with world leaders to promote Philippine interests abroad.

John Adams led the London Symphony Orchestra in the French premiere of his new piece, City Noir, Tuesday night at Salle Playel in Paris, part of the Domain privé John Adams series. Adams and the LSO had recently given the European premiere at London's Barbican Hall, which was broadcast on BBC Radio 3's Performance on 3 last night, now available online. The BBC called it "one of the season's most eagerly awaited concerts."

Brad Mehldau's latest Nonesuch album, Highway Rider, has been released to critical acclaim. The pianist/composer and his album are the subject of an extensive profile on NPR's All Things Considered. Jon Brion, the album's producer, says of Mehldau, "I just like the fact that he keeps changing it up, and I think that this is just another example of that." Saxophonist Joshua Redman explains: "He has the best groove on the planet."

The 2010 South by Southwest Music and Media Conference (SXSW) gets under way in Austin, Texas, today, with several performances by Nonesuch artists slated during the festival's run through the weekend from The Low Anthem, Carolina Chocolate Drops, and Christina Courtin, who kicks things off with a set at St. David's Sanctuary tonight. Also at SXSW this week are world premiere screenings of The Magnetic Fields documentary Strange Powers and the David Byrne tour film Ride, Rise, Roar.

Brad Mehldau's latest Nonesuch album, Highway Rider, is out now. The album "might be his most fully realized work yet," exclaims the Los Angeles Times in a perfect four-star review. "Full of unexpected twists and lush, evocative detours, Highway Rider is most definitely a trip, and one well worth taking." The Hartford Courtant calls it "triumphant." The BBC sees it as "a work that stretches the artist’s conceptual scope without stifling his essence."

Here Lies Love, David Byrne's musical collaboration with Fatboy Slim on the life of Imelda Marcos, is due out from Todomundo and Nonesuch Records in just three weeks and is currently available for pre-order in the Nonesuch Store. The song cycle features a who's who of guest vocalists like Santigold; the video for her track, "Please Don't," is now on Boing Boing. Ride, Rise, Roar, a documentary look at Byrne's 2008-09 tour, premiered yesterday at SXSW.