Nonesuch

Sing Me the Songs: Celebrating the Works of Kate McGarrigle features highlights from three concerts in honor of the late singer-songwriter Kate McGarrigle, held in London, Toronto, and New York. The 2-CD set was produced by Joe Boyd, who curated the concerts, and features performances by Rufus and Martha Wainwright, Anna McGarrigle, Emmylou Harris, Antony, Norah Jones, Teddy Thompson, and others. Net proceeds go to the Kate McGarrigle Foundation for sarcoma research. Nonesuch Store pre-orders include instant downloads of the album tracks “Kiss and Say Goodbye” and “I Am a Diamond.”

On her debut album, singer/songwriter Fatoumata Diawara—whom the Telegraph calls “the most beguiling talent to hit the world music scene in some time” and Mojo calls a "spell-weaving new voice"—uses elements of jazz, pop, and funk along with her ancestral Wassoulou tradition. John Paul Jones, Toumani Diabate, and Tony Allen all make guest appearances. Uncut gives Fatou four stars; Pitchfork calls it "beguiling." The Washington Post says "her well-crafted songs are quietly powerful."

Sam Amidon’s label debut, Bright Sunny South, was produced by Amidon with his childhood friend and longtime collaborator Thomas Bartlett (a.k.a. Doveman) and legendary English engineer Jerry Boys. Recorded in London, the album features a band comprising Bartlett and multi-instrumentalists Shahzad Ismaily and Chris Vatalaro. Jazz trumpeter Kenny Wheeler also makes a cameo. Amidon himself not only sings but also plays banjo, fiddle, acoustic guitar, and piano on the album. The Guardian, Mojo, and Q all give it four stars. Drowned in Sound calls it "his most emotionally and tonally complex LP to date."

Mala, singer/songwriter Devendra Banhart's eighth studio album and his Nonesuch debut, took shape in LA, where he and longtime cohort Noah Georgeson produced the album together, playing most of the instruments themselves, using borrowed equipment and a recorder they’d found in a pawn shop. The Guardian calls it a "triumph," giving it four stars, as does Q which calls this "enthralling" album a "career best." The Mala LP is pressed on 140-gram vinyl and includes the album on CD, an additional 7” with two bonus tracks, and an exclusive poster.

This eight-CD box set brings violinist Gidon Kremer’s six previously released recordings of Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla’s music together for the first time, along with a seventh album featuring a previously unreleased live recording from the CBC's Glenn Gould Studio. The Boston Globe has praised "both Piazzolla’s and Kremer’s ability to transcend genres and communicate a depth of emotion in which the best of classical, jazz and world music come together smoothly.”

Recorded at a church in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, The Orchestrion Project showcases the full evolution of the Orchestrion as documented at the tail end of a sprawling 2010 world tour. The two-disc set features all five tunes from Metheny's Orchestrion—“a soaring five-movement suite featuring some of the most intricate music he's ever created" (Boston Globe)—plus eight additional Metheny compositions, which he plays on his phalanx of remarkable, custom-made instruments via solenoid switches and pneumatics. Q gives the album four stars, as does the Observer which calls it "fresh, elegant and surprising." The album, says the Financial Times, "captures the guitarist in inspired form."

On Leaving Eden, the Carolina Chocolate Drops follow their Grammy-winning album Genuine Negro Jig with a record of original compositions, covers, and traditional songs produced by Buddy Miller (Emmylou Harris, Robert Plant, Patty Griffin, Solomon Burke). They “may take their cues from 1920s string- and jug-band music," says USA Today, "but they're simply a great band.” The Observer calls them "the most electrifying acoustic act around." Rolling Stone gives the album four stars. The BBC says: "It's plain terrific."

How I Knew Her, the Nonesuch debut from Nataly Dawn of Pomplamoose, comprises 12 autobiographical, introspective songs by Dawn, produced by her longtime partner Jack Conte and recorded with a group of accomplished musicians—Ryan Lerman, David Piltch, Louis Cole, and Matt Chamberlain—at Prairie Sun Studios, where many of her favorite Tom Waits albums had been made. Mojo gives it four stars, as does the Daily Telegraph, which calls it "delightful." The BBC calls it "the sound of a woman brimming with ideas as she seizes her moment."