Tonight marks the first night of public performances in New England Conservatory's two-day, four-concert Steve Reich festival. "Reich is that rare breed," writes Bostonist.com in a preview of the events: "the composer admired by the concert hall crowd but enjoyed by everybody." And with all of the concerts free of charge, Bostonist suggests taking in both nights, including tonight's Music for 18 Musicians and the Boston premiere of City Life and Daniel Variations on Thursday.

Last night, Pat Metheny played the last in a string of dates in South Africa with the trio from his upcoming Nonesuch release, Day Trip—bassist Christian McBride and drummer Antonio Sanchez. The Independent (South Africa)'s entertainment guide, Tonight, reports that the Sunday show in Durban was "the gig we were all itching for." After hearing the trio perform songs from Day Trip and others, the site declares: "'Gig of the year' was the general pronouncement."

This Friday night, Alarm Will Sound will make its Stanford University debut with the world premiere of John Adams's Son of Chamber Symphony, which the composer wrote for the innovative ensemble. Adams's first Chamber Symphony received its world premiere at The Hague in 1993. Also on Friday's program at Stanford's Dinkelspiel Auditorium are works by Conlon Nancarrow, Michael Gordon, and Aphex Twin. 

Jonny Greenwood's score for the Paul Thomas Anderson film There Will Be Blood won't be available for another few weeks (release date: December 18), but Nonesuch Radio is now streaming the two opening tracks off the album—"Open Spaces" and "Future Markets." To listen, click on the Nonesuch Radio icon at the top left of this screen.

Nonesuch wishes Randy Newman a very happy birthday. He turns 64 today.

David Byrne was on hand last week for Caetano Veloso's first show at the Nokia Theatre in New York, and he's written about the experience in his blog. In this excerpt, he describes how Caetano and his band allayed any concerns about the mix of styles in pairing the new songs in a set with the familiar older favorites. Riding home on his bike after the show, Byrne passed the brand-new home of the New York Times—a towering skyscraper designed by starchitect Renzo Piano—and took the occasion to muse on the state of journalism.

The London Jazz Festival has come to a close, but not before Joshua Redman brought his virtuoso sax playing to Queen Elizabeth Hall. He and his trio—bassist Reuben Rogers, drummer Greg Hutchinson—performed a set that included songs from his latest album, Back East. "Possessing an endless fund of ideas, effortless fluency, muscular tone and an immaculate technique," says the Observer, "he must be the most perfect tenor saxophonist alive today, and on Thursday he demonstrated flawlessly sculpted phrases and total control of the instrument, to the very extremities of its range." The Financial Times says it was "a masterclass in controlled collective improvisation." 

Sérgio and Odair Assad performed in their first of three concerts as part of the Adelaide International Guitar Festival on Saturday. The Adelaide Advertiser says: "[They] performed a truly classical duet for acoustic guitars, interweaving, ornamenting, and supporting each other perfectly. Their program of South American pieces was highly expressive, showing masterful control of mood and tonal quality." Up next for the Assads at the Festival: two concerts this weekend with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra featuring Ravel's Rhapsodie Espagnole.

Paula Court, the photographer for the New York performance space The Kitchen, has released New York Noise, a new book of photos from the city's underground art scene in the '70s and '80s. Included in the book are photos of everyone from Madonna and Michael Stipe to Philip Glass, Laurie Anderson, and David Byrne. Also in the book are short essays by some of the artists whose portraits are featured inside, including Anderson and Byrne. Read excerpts from their essays here.

Caetano Veloso closed his latest tour in Miami Saturday night, featuring the music of his album Cê. The Broward-Palm Beach New Times calls him a "tour de force," marveling at "his ability to make your stomach quiver or tears well up in the corners of your eyes throughout his career." "Caetano Veloso is arguably the most sophisticated pop artist anywhere," says the Miami Herald. "Perhaps it's that open smile, still seductive after all these years. Or perhaps it's just the fact that he is so damn good."

Sam Davol was recently featured in the New York Times—not an unheard of event for the cellist of The Magnetic Fields. This time, though, it wasn't in the Arts section. Sam, his wife, Leslie, and their two children have decamped from tony downtown Manhattan to return to the couple's hometown of Boston, and their beautiful new home is on view in the Times's Home & Garden section. The Davols traded in their New York digs for a more affordable place up north so, among other things, Sam could focus on his music. And with the recording studio they built in the new space, Sam was able to record a number of his tracks on The Magnetic Fields upcoming Nonesuch release, Distortion, right from home.

Uncut magazine (UK) has a preview of The Magnetic Fields' upcoming Nonesuch release, Distortion, that is best summed up by its final sentence: "What a curious and excellent album, all round."