As 2016 draws to a close, and the Nonesuch Journal takes a bit of a hiatus till the start of 2017, it's time to take a look back and remember all of the great and diverse music made by Nonesuch artists over the past year. Many Nonesuch artists and their recent Nonesuch releases have made music critics' and fans' year-end best lists. Here, in words and music and in chronological order, is a look back at the year in Nonesuch music.

The Randy Newman Songbook is now available in a three-CD box set, following its recent release on vinyl. The Songbook series—comprising solo recordings of songs from throughout Newman's five-decade career—previously included two volumes, released on CD in 2003 and 2011. Sixteen additional songs from a newly released third volume, along with five bonus tracks, join those first two volumes to create this new complete Songbook box set. Mitchell Froom produced The Randy Newman Songbook, Vol. 1 (which has been remastered for this box set) and was joined on Vol. 2 and Vol. 3 by Newman's lifelong friend and colleague Lenny Waronker.

Emmylou Harris joins Rufus & Martha Wainwright in presenting Nashville Noel Nights at the Ryman … John Adams’s El Niño is performed by LA Philharmonic … Devendra Banhart plays Standing Rock benefit in LA … Shye Ben Tzur, Rajasthan Express perform Junun in Thailand ...

Nonesuch Records releases its second album from pianist Tigran Hamasyan, An Ancient Observer, on March 31, 2017. It includes ten new compositions, two of which are based on Armenian melodies. Some are through-composed and completely written out, while others are composed with ample space for Hamasyan to improvise. He cites a wide range of influences—from Baroque dance to hip-hop grooves adapted to piano—and the sounds of his native country of Armenia are present, as always. Pre-orders include an instant download of the album track "Fides Tua"; you can watch a live performance of the song here.

Nonesuch Records will release a vinyl 7-inch single of two Randy Newman songs this coming Inauguration Day, January 20, 2017: "A Few Words in Defense of Our Country," from the new Randy Newman Songbook box set, b/w "Putin," a new song previously released only digitally. The Los Angeles Times called the former a "three-decades-on bookend to Political Science" that was "so funny it hurt." The 7-inch is now available to pre-order in the Nonesuch Store.

Congratulations to Audra McDonald, who has been nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award and an NAACP Image Award for her role as Billie Holiday in Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill on HBO. She made history and became Broadway's most decorated performer when she won her sixth Tony Award for Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill in 2014.

Chris Thile and Brad Mehldau were guests on CBS This Morning Saturday. They stopped gave a Saturday Sessions performance of three songs from their forthcoming debut duo album, Chris Thile & Brad Mehldau: Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice It's Alright," Elliott Smith's "Independence Day," and Thile and Mehldau's own "The Old Shade Tree." The selection reflects the mix of covers and original songs on the new double album, which is due January 27. You can watch the performances here.

John Adams leads London Symphony Orchestra in Scheherazade.2 and El Niño in Paris ... Timo Andres performs Adams's Grand Pianola Music at Rutgers ... Jeremy Denk gives solo recital at Duke ... The Mark Morris Dance Group performs The Hard Nut at BAM ... Conor Oberst concludes fall tour in Los Angeles ... Steve Reich’s Drumming performed in Brooklyn ... Chris Thile hosts A Prairie Home Companion in NYC; Thile and Brad Mehldau are on CBS This Morning Saturday ... and more ...

For Record Store Day Black Friday 2016, Conor Oberst released a new, limited-edition, black 7" vinyl single at independent record shops in the United States. That single is now available digitally on Apple Music, Spotify, and in the Nonesuch Store. The single features a new full-band recording of "Tachycardia," a song on Oberst's 2016 solo album, Ruminations, paired with "Afterthought," an unreleased track from the Ruminations recording sessions. 

Freedom Highway, Rhiannon Giddens' follow-up to her highly praised solo debut album, Tomorrow Is My Turn, will be released by Nonesuch Records on February 24, 2017. The record includes nine original songs she wrote or co-wrote, along with a traditional tune and two civil rights–era songs, "Birmingham Sunday" and Staple Singers' "Freedom Highway." Giddens co-produced the album with multi-instrumentalist Dirk Powell in his Louisiana studio, with the bulk of recording done in wooden rooms built prior to the Civil War, over an intense eight-day period. The result is an album that is rawer and more personal than its predecessor. Nonesuch Store pre-orders include an instant download of the title track and a limited-edition print signed by Giddens.

Joshua Redman and Brad Mehldau were featured on PBS NewsHour yesterday, the day they were nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album for their debut duo album, Nearness. The longtime friends, collaborators, and Nonesuch label mates spoke with NewsHour's Jeffrey Brown about making music together, or, as the show says, "how a passion for improvisation can make beautiful music." You can watch the interview and a performance of the album track "Old West" from the show here.

Congratulations to all of the Nonesuch Records artists who were nominated for the 59th Annual Grammy Awards, announced earlier today by The Recording Academy: Brad Mehldau, Joshua Redman, Rhiannon Giddens, Caetano Veloso & Gilberto Gil, and John Adams. Together, these artists' Nonesuch releases have garnered a total of six nominations this year. The Grammy Awards will be held on Sunday, February 12, 2017, in Los Angeles and will be broadcast live on CBS.