Mary Halvorson - Cloudward / The album features eight new compositions by Halvorson, performed with her sextet Amaryllis; the improvisatory band that performed on her critically praised 2022 albums Amaryllis and Belladonna comprises Halvorson, Patricia Brennan (vibraphone), Nick Dunston (bass), Tomas Fujiwara (drums), Jacob Garchik (trombone), and Adam O'Farrill (trumpet). Labelmate Laurie Anderson also is featured on the album track "Incarnadine."All the music on Cloudward was written in 2022, mostly in the fall and winter, when things started moving forward. Life felt like a creaky machine starting up again," she continues. "Air travel, however chaotic, had resumed, and we were once again cloudward. Performances and tours and recordings were happening after a long hiatus and with a renewed sense of gratitude. This band, for me, was quite simply working, both musically and personally, and the main thing I felt while writing the music was optimism."

The album features eight new compositions by Halvorson, performed with her sextet Amaryllis; the improvisatory band that performed on her critically praised 2022 albums Amaryllis and Belladonna comprises Halvorson, Patricia Brennan (vibraphone), Nick Dunston (bass), Tomas Fujiwara (drums), Jacob Garchik (trombone), and Adam O'Farrill (trumpet). Labelmate Laurie Anderson also is featured on the album track "Incarnadine."All the music on Cloudward was written in 2022, mostly in the fall and winter, when things started moving forward. Life felt like a creaky machine starting up again," she continues. "Air travel, however chaotic, had resumed, and we were once again cloudward. Performances and tours and recordings were happening after a long hiatus and with a renewed sense of gratitude. This band, for me, was quite simply working, both musically and personally, and the main thing I felt while writing the music was optimism."

The album comprises three works by Andres: the composer's third piano concerto, The Blind Banister, with Andres as soloist, and Upstate Obscura for chamber orchestra and cello, with soloist Inbal Segev both of which feature Metropolis Ensemble and conductor Andrew Cyr and the solo piano piece Colorful History, also performed by the composer. The Blind Banister was written for pianist Jonathan Biss to be performed alongside Beethoven's second concerto. Andres says, My piece is not a pastiche or an exercise in palimpsest. It doesn't quote or reference Beethoven. There are some surface similarities to his concerto (a three-movement structure, a B-flat tonal center) but these are mostly red herrings. The best way I can describe my approach to writing the piece is: I started writing my own cadenza to Beethoven's concerto, and ended up devouring it from the inside out. The piece was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2016. Upstate Obscura takes it's inspiration from American painter John Vanderlyn's Panoramic View of the Palace and Gardens of Versailles. Andres says, In taking on a quintessentially French subject, Vanderlyn somehow came up with something that feels American; it seems to regard Versailles at a bemused distance, with that characteristically American distrust of anything unnecessarily fanciful. My plan was to start with fragments of musical ornament from the French Baroque tradition like loose chunks of masonry and stretch them out until they no longer felt like ornaments... The solo cello moves just as a viewer might explore a virtual world at times wandering, at times with purpose. Andres describes the album's solo piano work: Colorful History is a chaconne, stemming from a single augmented triad, and following the course of various directions it suggests. I think of this as a kind of extended metaphor for historical events, and how they echo each other without literally repeating.

Brad Mehldau / AFTER BACH II - The album comprises four preludes and one fugue from J.S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, as well as the Allemande from Partita for Keyboard No. 4 in D Major, interspersed with seven compositions or improvisations by Mehldau inspired by the complementary works of the Baroque master-including his Variations on Bach's Goldberg Theme. Mehldau, speaking of the "universality" of Bach's music, says in his liner note: "The more you try to engage with him, the more your own personality becomes visible, unavoidably. You are not playing Bach-Bach is playing you, in the sense that he lays you bare... The greatest choice you make at all times is not out of an absence, but from what is there, in it's totality. Specifically, it is the constant choice you make in how to negotiate between harmony and melody."He continues, "This is why Bach is a model for me as a jazz musician. In my improvised solos, I want to make melodic phrases that carry harmonic implication, and create harmony that moves in a melodic fashion. This is a crucial component in the storytelling." After Bach II follows 2018's After Bach album, which originated in a work Mehldau first performed in 2015-commissioned by Carnegie Hall, The Royal Conservatory of Music, The National Concert Hall, and Wigmore Hall-called Three Pieces After Bach.

The original score for Ken Burns's 2024 two-part documentary, LEONARDO da VINCI. The album features performances by the composer's longtime collaborators Attacca Quartet, So Percussion, and Roomful of Teeth as well as John Patitucci. Shaw wrote and recorded new music for LEONARDO da VINCI, marking the first time a Ken Burns film has featured an entirely original score. LEONARDO da VINCI is directed by Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, and David McMahon. The film, which explores the life and work of the fifteenth century polymath Leonardo da Vinci, is Burns's first non-American subject.

2026 release. Sarah Kirkland Snider's fifth full-length LP, a new, all-orchestral album titled Forward Into Light, produced by multi-GRAMMY-winning producer Silas Brown and recorded by GRAMMY-nominated Metropolis Ensemble led by artistic director/conductor Andrew Cyr.

Malian balafon player Neba Solo and donso n'goni player Benego Diakit�'s A Djinn and a Hunter Went Walking-the first in a series of new releases in collaboration with longtime Nonesuch partner Nick Gold, former head of World Circuit Records-features the leading players of their traditional instruments: the marimba-like balafon, or bala, and donso n'goni, a hunter's harp. On the album, co-produced by Gold, Ousmane Ha�dara, and Sonny Johns, the acoustic instrumentals are complemented by vocals and percussion as well as touches of mellotron, guitar, and strings. The CD version includes a second disc of their original duo performances, unadorned, recorded in a Bamako garden under a mango tree. They started after the sun went down, and crickets can be heard chirping during the quiet moments.

Vinyl LP pressing. Malian balafon player Neba Solo and donso n'goni player Benego Diakit�'s A Djinn and a Hunter Went Walking-the first in a series of new releases in collaboration with longtime Nonesuch partner Nick Gold, former head of World Circuit Records-features the leading players of their traditional instruments: the marimba-like balafon, or bala, and donso n'goni, a hunter's harp. On the album, co-produced by Gold, Ousmane Ha�dara, and Sonny Johns, the acoustic instrumentals are complemented by vocals and percussion as well as touches of mellotron, guitar, and strings.

Jeff Parker & ETA IVtet Happy Today - Led by guitarist Jeff Parker, featuring saxophonist Josh Johnson, bassist Anna Butterss, anddrummer Jay Bellerose, the ETA IVtet is a band that grew out of a weekly residency started byParker in 2016 at Northeast Los Angeles venue ETA. Over seven years of holding down that residency, Parker's ETA ensemble evolved from a bandthat played mostly standards into a group known for it's transcendent, long-form (sometimesstretching out for 45 minutes or more) journeys into innovative, often uncharted territories ofgroove-oriented, painterly, polyrhythmic, minimalist and mantric improvised music.

Happy Today, the third album from guitarist/bandleader Jeff Parker's long-running ETA IVtet, was recorded live at Lodge Room in Los Angeles on August 20, 2025. This fresh entry into the IVtet's catalog captures Parker and the band - including drummer Jay Bellerose, bassist Anna Butterss, and saxophonist Josh Johnson - on record outside of the now-shuttered Highland Park micro-club ETA for the first time.

Classical Music

2019 release from Joshua Redman and Brooklyn Rider. The album comprises eight compositions from a suite by composer Patrick Zimmerli. Each piece in the suite, which premiered at London's Wigmore Hall in 2014, represents a different expression of light. Bassist Scott Colley and drummer Satoshi Takeishi perform as well. Redman previously worked with Zimmerli when the latter created orchestral arrangements of Redman's compositions for the 2013 Nonesuch album Walking Shadows.

2019 release. Rachael & Vilray is the debut album by Lake Street Dive singer-songwriter Rachael Price and composer, singer, and guitarist Vilray. The twelve-song set features 10 originals by Vilray, along with two covers from the era that inspired him: Cuban composer Pedro Junco Jr.'s 1943 "Nosotros" and Milton Drake/Louis Atler's "I Love the Way You're Breaking My Heart," first popularized by Peggy Lee. Price and Vilray, who began performing together in 2015, recorded the album with Lake Street Dive pianist Akie Bermiss, a rhythm section, and a small complement of horns, plus a guest performance from pianist Jon Batiste on "Go On Shining." Dan Knobler, who had worked with Lake Street Dive on the Free Yourself Up album, produced.

ROBESON

2020 release. The members of the original Joshua Redman Quartet-Redman (saxophone), Brad Mehldau (piano), Christian McBride (bass), and Brian Blade (drums)-reunite with the release of RoundAgain, the group's first recording since 1994's MoodSwing. The album features seven newly composed songs: three from Redman, two from Mehldau, and one each from McBride and Blade.

2022 release. In These Times is a collection of polytemporal compositions inspired as much by broader cultural struggles as McCraven's personal experience as a product of a multinational, working class musician community. It's the recording that he's been trying to create for 7+ years, as it's been consistently in process in the background while he's put forth a prolific run of releases including: In The Moment (2015), Highly Rare (2017), Where We Come From (2018), Universal Beings (2018), We're New Again (2020), Universal Beings E&F Sides (2020), and Deciphering the Message (2021). With contributions from over a dozen musicians and creative partners from his tight-knit circle of collaborators - including Jeff Parker, Junius Paul, Brandee Younger, Joel Ross, and Marquis Hill - the music was recorded in five different studios and four live performance spaces while McCraven engaged in extensive post-production work at home. Featuring orchestral, large ensemble arrangements interwoven with the signature "organic beat music" sound that's become his signature, the album is an evolution and a milestone for McCraven, the producer. But moreover, it's the strongest and clearest statement we've yet to hear from McCraven, the composer.

Double vinyl LP pressing. The original score for Ken Burns's 2024 two-part documentary, LEONARDO da VINCI. The album features performances by the composer's longtime collaborators Attacca Quartet, So Percussion, and Roomful of Teeth as well as John Patitucci. Shaw wrote and recorded new music for LEONARDO da VINCI, marking the first time a Ken Burns film has featured an entirely original score. LEONARDO da VINCI is directed by Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, and David McMahon. The film, which explores the life and work of the fifteenth century polymath Leonardo da Vinci, is Burns's first non-American subject.

Double vinyl LP pressing. Nonesuch releases Philip Glass' award-winning soundtrack to The Hours on vinyl for the first time to coincide with it's 20th anniversary. Originally released in December 2002, Glass's score to the Academy Award-winning film was itself nominated for an Academy Award, as well as a Golden Globe and a Grammy, and went on to win a BAFTA and a Classical BRIT. Philip Glass' score was conducted by Nick Ingman, with Michael Reisman on piano and the Lyric Quartet, and recorded at Abbey Road Studios and Air Studios, London. The score was a key element in this acclaimed triptych of dramatic tales.

FINDING GABRIEL

Vinyl LP pressing. 2022 release. In These Times is a collection of polytemporal compositions inspired as much by broader cultural struggles as McCraven's personal experience as a product of a multinational, working class musician community. It's the recording that he's been trying to create for 7+ years, as it's been consistently in process in the background while he's put forth a prolific run of releases including: In The Moment (2015), Highly Rare (2017), Where We Come From (2018), Universal Beings (2018), We're New Again (2020), Universal Beings E&F Sides (2020), and Deciphering the Message (2021). With contributions from over a dozen musicians and creative partners from his tight-knit circle of collaborators - including Jeff Parker, Junius Paul, Brandee Younger, Joel Ross, and Marquis Hill - the music was recorded in five different studios and four live performance spaces while McCraven engaged in extensive post-production work at home. Featuring orchestral, large ensemble arrangements interwoven with the signature "organic beat music" sound that's become his signature, the album is an evolution and a milestone for McCraven, the producer. But moreover, it's the strongest and clearest statement we've yet to hear from McCraven, the composer.

Brad Mehldau / JACOB'S LADDER - The album features new music that reflects on scripture and the search for God through music inspired by the prog rock Mehldau loved as a young adolescent, which was his gateway to the fusion that eventually led to his discovery of jazz. Jacob's Ladder is made up of original compositions by Mehldau alongside interpolations and covers of songs by Rush, Gentle Giant and Yes. Featured musicians on the album include Mehldau's label mates Chris Thile and C�cile McLorin Salvant, as well as Mark Guiliana, Becca Stevens, Joel Frahm, and others.

Vinyl LP pressing. 2022 release. Singer/songwriter C�cile McLorin Salvant's Nonesuch Records debut album, Ghost Song, features a diverse mix of seven originals and five interpretations on the themes of ghosts, nostalgia, and yearning. Salvant says, "It's unlike anything I've done before-it's getting closer to reflecting my personality as an eclectic curator. I'm embracing my weirdness!"

Mehldau performs four preludes, from a thirty-seven-year span of Gabriel Faur�'s career, as well as a reduction of an excerpt from the Adagio movement of his Piano Quartet in G Minor. Here Mehldau's four compositions that Faur� inspired are presented in a group, sandwiched between two sections featuring the French composer's works. Discussing the Apr�s Faur� album in his note, Mehldau says: "If the sublime foreshadows our mortality, this music might communicate the austerity of death-Faur�'s as it approached him, but also the apprehension of our own. We find a kinship with the composer finally, in the form of a question that he tossed off into the future, to us. I have composed four pieces to accompany Faur�'s music here, to share the way I have engaged with Faur�'s question, with you, the listener."This format is similar to my After Bach project," he continues. "The connections are less overt, but Faur�'s harmonic imprint is on all four. There is also a textural influence, in terms of how he presented his musical material pianistically-he exploited the instrument's sonority masterfully, as an expressive means. So, for example, in my first 'Prelude,' melody is welded to a continuous arpeggiation, both part of it and hovering above it; in my 'Nocturne,' it is possible to hear the harkening chordal approach in the opening of Faur�'s No. 12."

Brad Mehldau / JACOB'S LADDER - The album features new music that reflects on scripture and the search for God through music inspired by the prog rock Mehldau loved as a young adolescent, which was his gateway to the fusion that eventually led to his discovery of jazz. Jacob's Ladder is made up of original compositions by Mehldau alongside interpolations and covers of songs by Rush, Gentle Giant and Yes. Featured musicians on the album include Mehldau's label mates Chris Thile and C�cile McLorin Salvant, as well as Mark Guiliana, Becca Stevens, Joel Frahm, and others.

Classical Music