Brad Mehldau has shared the story behind the title track to his new Trio album, Seymour Reads The Constitution!, in a new essay. "In 2014, I had a dream that the actor Philip Seymour Hoffman was reading the American Constitution to me," he begins. You can read what he has to say here.

Punch Brothers have shared a video of their live performance of "Julep," a song from their 2015 album, The Phosphorescent Blues, at the Taft Theatre in Cincinnati, Ohio, last summer. You can watch it here. The video comes about a month before the band's return to the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, not long after which the big US summer tour begins (and after that, a European autumn tour).

Cheers to Olivia Chaney, who has been busy signing the limited-edition prints included with pre-orders of her new album, Shelter, exclusively in the Nonesuch Store. Pre-orders also include an instant download of the album tracks "IOU" and "Roman Holiday," which you can hear here, and a download of the complete album available from release day, June 15. Tickets are on sale now for album release shows in NYC and London in June.

Audra McDonald was a guest on The Late Late Show with James Corden on CBS. She joined Corden and Dan Stevens for a few very special performances of inappropriate musicals. "Many of Broadway's biggest hit musicals have been based on movies," says Corden. "But there are so many more great movie possibilities. So tonight, we proudly present scenes from a trio of exciting screen-to-stage adaptations." Watch the performances here.

Brad Mehldau Trio's new album, Seymour Reads the Constitution! , is out now. The pianist and his longtime trio—drummer Jeff Ballard and bassist Larry Grenadier—perform three Mehldau originals combined with interpretations of pop songs (Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson), jazz tunes (Elmo Hope, Sam Rivers), and the American songbook (Frederick Loewe). "This is sumptuous, collective improvisation of the highest order," exclaims The Arts Desk's five-star review. "It's so good, it sounds effortless ... Gorgeous."

Thomas Bartlett and Nico Muhly's Peter Pears: Balinese Ceremonial Music is out now. The album is nine songs written by the duo plus three gamelan transcriptions by ethnomusicologist Colin McPhee that inspired the songs. Bartlett and Muhly play pianos and keyboards on the album, and Bartlett sings, joined by others on strings and metallic pitched percussion. Bartlett and Muhly perform from Peter Pears at LPR in NYC on May 24, National Concert Hall in Dublin on June 6, and LSO St Luke's in London on June 8.

Lake Street Dive stopped by MPR's The Current while in St. Paul to perform a sold-out show at the Palace Theater. They spoke with host Mac Wilson about the new album Free Yourself Up and performed three songs from it: "Good Kisser," "Hang On," and "Doesn't Even Matter Now." You can watch videos of the first two performances here and listen to the complete session at thecurrent.org.

Olivia Chaney performs in Jimi Hendrix's bedroom in London … Timo Andres plays in Brooklyn … Devendra Banhart headlines LTDOMX in Mexico … David Byrne, Fleet Foxes, Rhiannon Giddens, Lake Street Dive continue US tours … Richard Goode plays solo in London … Emmylou Harris is in Austin … Tigran Hamasyan performs in Italy … Kronos Quartet performs in UK … Audra McDonald is in California … Brad Mehldau Trio concludes European tour … Joshua Redman joins Brooklyn Rider … Chris Thile hosts Live From Here from Atlanta … and more ...

The latest issue of BBC Music Magazine is out now, including reviews of three new Nonesuch releases: Steve Reich's Pulse / Quartet ("poignant, intoxicating"), John Adams's Violin Concerto ("expansively beautiful, dazzling"), and Brad Mehldau Trio's Seymour Reads the Constitution! ("the art of the trio"). 

David Byrne, whose birthday was earlier this week, was given a special gift by Choir! Choir! Choir!. The group, through which directors Nobu Adilman and Daveed Goldman lead singers and non-singers alike to participate in a mass sing-along, dedicated its latest gathering in Toronto to Byrne's birthday, performing "Everybody's Coming to My House," from his new album, American Utopia. Grab a piece of cake and enjoy the performance here. Byrne joined Choir! Choir! Choir! in NYC to perform David Bowie's "Heroes" earlier this year.

Still Dreaming, the new album from saxophonist and composer Joshua Redman, drummer Brian Blade, bassist Scott Colley, and trumpeter Ron Miles, out next Friday, May 25, is streaming in full till then as an NPR First Listen. The album was inspired by the band Old and New Dreams, of which Joshua Redman's father Dewey was a member and which had an all-star lineup of Ornette Coleman collaborators. "The rhythmic undertow in this band feels true to its inspiration, as does the airtight-yet-relaxed rapport between Redman and Miles," says NPR's Nate Chinen.

Lake Street Dive is on NPR's World Cafe, discussing and performing two songs from the new album Free Yourself Up—"Good Kisser" and "Musta Been Something"—plus "Saving All My Sinning," from 2016's Side Pony. Host Talia Schlanger says: "If you've heard any of the original music they make, you know they take all the most fun bits of pop, soul, disco, jazz, rock and roll and stitch them together into something all their own." Hear the session here.