Rokia Traoré, whose most recent album, Tchamantché, was released on Nonesuch earlier this year, is the subject of a feature profile in the Sunday Times (UK), in anticipation of her sold-out concert at London’s celebrated Barbican this Friday. The article highlights both her “flourishing reputation” and the launch of her Fondation Passarelle, an organization she founded to help young people develop the skills needed to enter the music business. In August, she performs two free shows in New York that Time Out includes in its preview of the summer's best outdoor concerts. "With her latest disc," says the magazine, "Traoré wraps her beautiful, velvety voice around moody blues and joyous Afrobeats alike. Be prepared to gape at her lovely vocals, and also to get up and shimmy."

Sara Watkins is taking a couple days off from her extensive US tour behind her recently released, self-titled Nonesuch debut. But while you wait to see her back in action in her live show, you can hear her perform songs from the new album on NPR's World Café this afternoon. Listen live online at xpn.org at 2 PM EST or check back in with npr.org later in the day to listen to today's episode streaming.

Wilco begins its 10-day tour of Spain and Portugal ... Amadou & Mariam play a benefit "Hidden Gig" with Pink Floyd's David Gilmour in London ... Dan Auerbach plays throughout Benelux ... Christina Courtin, Dawn Upshaw perform at Dublin's National Gallery of Ireland ... Bill Frisell's 858 Quartet plays MA, NY, and FL all in one weekend ... Allen Toussaint's residency at the Village Vanguard with The Bright Mississippi band continues through Sunday ... and more on this Memorial Day weekend ...

Allen Toussaint's residency at the Village Vanguard with The Bright Mississippi band continues through Sunday. The New York Times, in its review of Tuesday's opener, writes: "New Orleans was in every phrase, with hints of swing, of humor, of sly sensuality ... It wasn’t a re-creation of old New Orleans music but a reverie on a New Orleans heritage: a lifetime of memories refined by a genteel sensibility that finds the elegance in the blues." Last night's set is now streaming at npr.org. Bob Boilen, host of NPR's All Songs Considered, previewed the show, saying, "If you listen to one jazz concert this year, tonight is your night." His NPR colleagues called it "an intimate, graceful and eminently enjoyable jazz show." New Orleans' Times-Picayune exclaims: "The Bright Mississippi is a highlight of an already remarkable career."

Allen Toussaint and his Bright Mississippi Band, featuring most of the players from his recently released Nonesuch album, begin a week's residency at New York's Village Vanguard tonight. NPR member station WBGO Jazz 88.3 FM will broadcast Wednesday night's early set live from the Vanguard on air and online at npr.org, where there will be a live video feed as well. "On The Bright Mississippi," says the New York Times, "his sharp and spirited new album, Mr. Toussaint—an eminent New Orleans pianist and songwriter, but not, strictly speaking, a jazz man—takes a crack at some old-time jazz standards, with refreshing results."

Adams conducts Adams in LA Phil performances of A Flowering Tree ... Carolina Chocolate Drops do Seattle's Giant Magnet festival ... Bill Frisell Trio concludes Village Vanguard residency ... Glass goes solo at Manchester's Futuresonic Festival ... Brad Mehldau does duo and solo sets at SFJAZZ ... The Low Anthem bring the music to Brighton's Great Escape Festival ... Mandy Patinkin, Patti LuPone conclude two-week run in Cleveland ... Dawn Upshaw performs Golijov in Glasgow ... Sara Watkins winds her way up the Western states ... and more ...

Amadou & Mariam are the subject of a feature profile in this week's Village Voice, as the focal point of the paper's picks for this summer's live music highlights. In a look at the couple's career and their latest Nonesuch release, Welcome to Mali, the Voice dismisses the normally narrow notion of "world music" but says the Malian duo's eclectic style is well suited to a truer understanding of the phrase: "[I]f anyone truly makes world music, it's Amadou & Mariam ... Through their constant curiosity and a romantic ear, the married couple invokes more than the sounds of their West African roots; they seem to be the epicenter of many cultures."

Bill Frisell begins a five-night residency at New York's Village Vanguard with his trio, featuring bassist Tony Scherr and drummer Kenny Wollesen tonight. It was at the Vanguard that the trio recorded the "East" half of Frisell's 2005 double disc, East/West. Frisell was a central figure in the recent Melbourne International Jazz Festival, playing an "unforgettable" festival closer with the Trio, says The Age. "[I]t was a thrill to see such an influential, genre-defying artist on stage. Frisell has one of the most distinctive guitar sounds: a sound that radiates warmth and optimism, no matter how woozily dissonant or distorted it may become."

Allen Toussaint was in Las Vegas this past weekend performing at the city's free Jazz in the Park series and performs a week's residency at New York's Village Vanguard next week, joined by most of the musicians off his recently released solo Nonesuch debut, The Bright Mississippi. "Allen Toussaint's new album couldn't sound more like New Orleans," says the Boston Globe. The pianist "revisits jazz classics ... and takes them for a stroll through Preservation Hall, imbuing his own funky brand of pop-song charisma." Throughout, "Toussaint's musical soul guides all, making the classics sound like his own." The St. Petersburg Times gives it an A; the Lexington Herald Leader calls it "sublime."

John Adams is in Los Angeles this week to conduct a series of concerts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert Hall. On tap are two performances, the orchestra's first, of Adams's latest opera, A Flowering Tree, with its original cast of singers, this Friday and Sunday, plus a concert Tuesday, pairing his Son of Chamber Symphony with works by two young composer/performers. The LAist chooses the performances for its Classical Pick of the Week.

Björk, Dirty Projectors premiere new music at sold-out NY benefit ... Adams's work joins Beethoven's in Winnipeg Ballet piece ... Laurie Anderson brings Burning Leaves to Berlin ... Bill Frisell Trio continues at the Cotton Club in Tokyo ... Philip Glass talks art, Buddhism for benefit event ... Richard Goode plays Bach, Chopin in intimate NYC space ... Kronos plays German jazz fest, join Wu Man at the Barbican ... Brad Mehldau Trio continues sold-out residency at the Vanguard ... Mandy Patinkin, Patti LuPone play two weeks in Cleveland ... Punch Brothers play PA Renaissance Faire ... Allen Toussaint offers a free set in Vegas ... Dawn Upshaw, Osvaldo Golijov, oversee Carnegie Hall workshop concerts ... Sara Watkins makes way to Windy City ... and more ...

Allen Toussaint, fresh off the heels of his New Orleans JazzFest performances, is set to play a free outdoor performance in Las Vegas Saturday night. The New York Daily News writes of his solo Nonesuch debut, The Bright Mississippi: "It's a marvel on every level ... The feel for New Orleans music offered on the CD defies every garish cliché of the region, epitomizing instead a subtlety and dignity that have marked Toussaint's music from the start." All About Jazz calls it "a rich and multi-layered CD ... Toussaint, with producer Joe Henry, has crafted a sound that is modern yet traditional, jazzy yet funky, soulful yet pristine and completely elegant." The Ottawa Citizen gives it four stars, exclaiming: "It's a killer."