Nicholas Payton's Nonesuch debut, Into the Blue, set for release this Tuesday, receives four stars from The Guardian, which contends that listeners who think they know what to expect from the New Orleans trumpeter "might be very surprised" by his latest work. Into the Blue "is full of inspired ballad-rhapsodising, unhurried uptempo improvisations that pulsate with feints and twists, and original compositions and reshaped modern urban and Latin grooves that reveal an incisive creative intelligence."

Don't forget to tune in to the Late Show with David Letterman tonight to see The Black Keys perform "I Got Mine" off their new album, Attack & Release. The Late Show starts at 11:30 PM ET.

"Delightful, and close to flawless." That's how the Sydney Morning Herald describes k.d. lang's performance Wednesday at Sydney's State Theatre. The Australian concurs, writing: "In concert, k.d. lang comes so close to perfection that it's hard not to dissolve into gushing cliches." This week, as k.d.'s new album, Watershed, reached No. 1 in Australia, she and her band have been touring the country.

Tune in to the Late Show with David Letterman tomorrow night to catch The Black Keys perform a song off their new album, Attack & Release. The band will be at NYC's Other Music Saturday to spin an hourlong guest-DJ set in store as part of Record Store Day. There will also be all sorts of prizes and special deals throughout the day.

k.d. lang's "Shadow and the Frame," off her recent Nonesuch release Watershed, joins an eclectic mix of song selects on USA Today's Playlist this week, which also includes the likes of the Rolling Stones and Ray Davies. USA Today says k.d. sings "elegantly, painfully" on the track, with its "spare and exquisite string arrangement." You can hear the song on a video clip that is the first of six webisodes launched in January, available here.

Toumani Diabaté's latest release, The Mande Variations, his first solo recording since his debut album 20 years ago, "is a welcome surprise," says Banning Eyre on NPR's All Things Considered. "In the hands of a master like Diabaté," Eyre concludes, "the kora belongs to an African classical art form that has been evolving and growing for hundreds of years. With this work, Diabaté defines the very state of that art." Toumani is in London this week for three shows with Björk at the Hammersmith Apollo.

Two of the most memorable stars of the HBO series The Wire will be in Durham, North Carolina, this Friday to show their support and raise funds for the John Avery Boys & Girls Club there, reports the News & Observer. Andre Royo, who played Bubbles on the show, and Michael K. Williams, who played Omar Little, will discuss the important role the Club plays in the lives of so many young people.

Steve Reich's Daniel Variations was the featured album on last night's episode of WNYC's New Sounds. The title piece "justifiably has drawn a fair amount of attention and acclaim," says the show's host, John Schaefer. Daniel Variations, which the Sydney Morning Herald calls "a powerful composition," will receive its Australian premiere this Friday at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.