John Adams's Scheherazade.2 is out next Friday, September 30. But you don't need to wait till then to hear it: the album is streaming in full as an NPR First Listen. "His cinematic music goes a long way in unfolding a potent drama, masterfully illuminated by conductor David Robertson and the St. Louis Symphony," says NPR. Violinist Leila Josefowicz "gives a searing performance ... The fierceness and vulnerability [she] expresses contributes to an award-caliber performance." Scheherazade.2 "sets a whole new standard for narrative and theatrical vibrancy," exclaims the San Francisco Chronicle. Hear it here.

Congratulations to Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell, who took home the Duo/Group of the Year Award for their album The Traveling Kind at the Americana Music Association Honors & Awards ceremony last night at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. They also performed the album track "Bring It on Home to Memphis." Other winners include Sara Watkins, Instrumentalist of the Year, and Shawn Colvin, who received the Lifetime Achievement Trailblazer Award. The PBS series Austin City Limits will broadcast a special featuring performance highlights from the event on November 19.

Joshua Redman and Brad Mehldau embark on a two-month world tour in support of their new album, Nearness. The duo tour starts in the US this week, making stops in Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, NYC, and LA, before a four-night run at SFJAZZ with an orchestra performing Mehldau's album Highway Rider. The international leg of the duo tour begins in Tokyo, Seoul, and Shanghai, then heads to Australia for shows in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane, and to Europe for dates in Switzerland, Italy, Germany, France, Netherlands, and the UK.

Composer Nico Muhly and singer/songwriter Teitur have released a second song off their forthcoming album, Confessions, due October 21: "Don't I Know You from Somewhere." The track is available to download now with pre-orders of the album, along with the previously released album opener, "Describe You." The album's lyrics were inspired by video the pair found on YouTube. In 2009, Muhly, Teitur, and Holland Baroque toured the Netherlands, performing Confessions with the videos that inspired it, such as the one seen here for "Don't I Know You from Somewhere," projected behind the players.

Lake Street Dive was a guest on NPR's Mountain Stage, performing four songs from its Nonesuch Records debut album, Side Pony—"Godawful Things," "I Don't Care About You," "Side Pony," and "Call Off Your Dogs—and more. "The deal with Lake Street Dive is pretty simple: The band's four members can all flat-out play, sing and write," says the show. "Lake Street Dive is jazz-schooled and DIY-motivated, taking its penchant for Beatles-inspired pop and stretching the boundaries to a sophisticated style of acoustic, groove-driven soul." The band is touring the US and will join Chris Thile for his season-opening show as the new host of A Prairie Home Companion on October 15.

Chris Thile was on NPR's quiz show Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me! last weekend. He discussed his new role as host of A Prairie Home Companion, which begins October 15 with special guests Lake Street Dive and Jack White. Thile, a co-founder of the band Nickel Creek, also answers questions about the similarly named band Nickelback in the segment "Not My Job," which host Peter Sagal describes as "the game where people who are geniuses at what they do prove how good they can be doing something else entirely." You can hear how well Thile did here. 

John Adams turns 70 on February 15, 2017, and performances are in place around the world to celebrate this landmark anniversary throughout the 2016–2017 season, beginning with the German premiere of Scheherazade.2, in which he leads the Berliner Philharmoniker and violinist Leila Josefowicz this weekend, and culminating with the world premiere of his Girls of the Golden West staged by San Francisco Opera in November 2017. Here are some of the highlights.

Laurie Anderson's 2015 film Heart of a Dog will receive its Criterion Collection release on Blu-Ray and DVD on December 6, 2016. Features on the special-edition release include a high-definition digital master, a new conversation between Anderson and coproducer Jake Perlin, and footage of her 2016 Concert for Dogs, plus an essay by film critic Glenn Kenny. The soundtrack, which contains the full audio recording of the film, including all music and spoken text, is out on Nonesuch.

Joshua Redman is the showcase artist at Monterey Jazz Fest, where Pat Metheny also performs … John Adams leads Berlin Philharmonic, violinist Leila Josefowicz in Scheherazade.2 German premiere … The Arcs play Palomino Festival in Minneapolis … Devendra Banhart takes part in Wired Next Fest in Florence … Teresa Cristina headlines in São Paulo … Michael Daves plays back-to-back duo shows in the South with banjoist Tony Trischka … Jeremy Denk gives two UK solo recitals … Lianne La Havas tours the South with Leon Bridges … Lake Street Dive is in Canada … and more …

Kris Chen has joined Nonesuch Records as Senior Vice President. Chen comes to the label from XL Recordings, where he served as head of the company's US operations for the past eleven years and was responsible for signing and/or working closely with artists such as Vampire Weekend, Radiohead's Thom Yorke, Sigur Rós, Tyler the Creator, Ratatat, and The xx. In his new post, Chen reports to Nonesuch Co-President David Bither and is based at the label's global headquarters in New York City. He will be involved across all areas of the company, with a particular focus on signing and developing both new and established talent.

Congratulations to Audra McDonald and Philip Glass, who are among this year's National Medal of Arts recipients. President Barack Obama will present the awards in a ceremony at the White House on Thursday, September 22, 2016. "The National Medal of Arts recipients have helped to define our nation's cultural legacy through the artistic excellence of their creative traditions," says NEA Chairman Jane Chu, "and I join the President in congratulating and thanking them for their contributions." You can watch the ceremony here.

Joshua Redman and Brad Mehldau released their debut duo album, Nearness, on Nonesuch last week to critical acclaim. "Few records released this year better define what jazz sounds like today," exclaims the Wall Street Journal. The review notes the "stellar intuitive interplay between the musicians" and sums up the album as "an impressive work that showcases two active minds smartly updating classics." Redman and Mehldau spoke with writer Michael Hill about the album and their long friendship and history of working together. You can read what they had to say here.