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."

The Brad Mehldau Trio returned to the Village Vanguard in New York's Greenwich Village this past Tuesday for the first in a five-night residency of a dozen sold-out sets. "[T]here was looseness in his first set on Tuesday night, along with variety and depth of feeling," says the New York Times. "Mr. Mehldau conveyed a spruce informality, mixing impulse with erudition." By set's end, "His sound, completely luminous, filled the room." The Chicago Tribune calls last Friday's Trio performance at that city's Symphony Center "delightful," exclaiming that Mehldau's "collaboration with bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jeff Ballard reaffirmed one's belief in the enduring viability of the jazz trio."

Dawn Upshaw and pianist Gilbert Kalish performed at Boston's Jordan Hall on Sunday afternoon, in what the Boston Globe calls a "memorable" recital. "She is, indisputably, a great singer, with a voice that radiates power and unforced warmth," says the Globe. "But her secret weapon is a casual, unpretentious demeanor that lessens the distance between stage and audience. Listeners in her presence experience music not as the inaccessible product of a holy art but as a thing of open, approachable beauty." Later this month, Nonesuch will reissue, as MP3 albums, exclusively in the Nonesuch Store, five recordings of the Haydn piano sonatas Kalish made for the label between 1975 and 1980.

Today marks the release of Richard Goode's first-ever recording of the complete Beethoven piano concertos, with the Budapest Festival Orchestra and conductor Iván Fischer. In a perfect five-star review of the recording, the Financial Times declares it a "landmark recording of the Beethoven concertos." The review continues: "Goode makes the familiar sound unexpectedly fresh. He plays without mannerism, without stylistic quirks, without making anything sound predictable." Goode performs solo works by Bach and Chopin tonight at Carnegie Hall.

The Brad Mehldau Trio sets up shop tonight for a five-night residency at New York's Village Vanguard, the site of the group's most recent recordings, Live  and the Nonesuch Store exclusive MP3 collection Live: The Complete Friday Night Sets. The New York Times says that Live shows that the pianist's "peerless trio ... has the glide to elevate just about anything, including Mr. Mehldau’s savvy originals." The Village Voice declares: "Hard to beat a mix of killer chops and songbook savvy." The Guardian gives four stars to Brad's recent Wigmore Hall solo performance, calling him "the doyen of contemporary jazz pianists, an improviser whose instinctive, emotional command of the instrument is complemented by a formidable intellect."

Richard Goode's recording of all five Beethoven piano concertos with the Budapest Festival Orchestra and conductor Iván Fischer, is set for release on Nonesuch this week. The New York Times examines both the new set and Goode's earlier recordings in an in-depth look at the pianist's career and his extensive history with the label, describing it as "a long and productive affiliation ... that any musician would envy." Even in an earlier time when such relationships were perhaps less rare, "Mr. Goode would have stood out for his fastidious musicianship, infallible fingers, warming spirit and vital connection to the living traditions set down by his predecessors."

Allen Toussaint helped close the 40th anniversary New Orleans JazzFest "on an upbeat note" yesterday, says USA Today. NPR's Fresh Air says that "Toussaint sounds as eternal as New Orleans" on his recent Nonesuch release, The Bright Mississippi. "Whether he's reworking Ellington, Bechet or Reinhardt, Toussaint infuses the numbers with his own elegant funk, particularly evident in his piano work, never so varied and flowing." The Observer says the pianist and his band "dip into the New Orleans fountain of jazz youth" on the album, and "Toussaint's own piano rolls along as ornately and authentically as ever.

Allen Toussaint, "a one-man repository of New Orleans music" (Paste), plays big finish of Big Easy's JazzFest ... Laurie Anderson, Lou Reed perform at ICA Boston benefit, PEN Cabaret ... Toumani Diabaté plays Portland, ME, and Middletown, CT ... Bill Frisell headlines the Melbourne Jazz Festival ... Emmylou Harris, Kate & Anna McGarrigle celebrate Pete Seeger's 90th at MSG ... Fred Hersch heads three sets in Baltimore ... k.d. lang honors Women in the Arts at Kennedy Center gala ... Brad Mehldau is in the Midwest ... Joshua Redman Trio plays a set in Sydney ... Dawn Upshaw joins Gilbert Kalish at Jordan Hall ... Sara Watkins wows Woodstock ... and more ...

Wilco has completed work on their forthcoming album, due out June 30 on Nonesuch Records, and, after much anticipation, it now comes complete with a title: Wilco (the album). "There’s a little something for everyone on the group’s new disc," says Rolling Stone. Wilco's performance at the New Orleans JazzFest last weekend was their last US gig till June, and, says Rolling Stone, "The band presented its friendliest, most rootsy face ... Throughout, the band’s movement from a whisper to a screech happened organically." "The fresh air favors Wilco," reports the Times-Picayune. "Jeff Tweedy and company delivered thrilling, nuanced sets ... [and] stamped an exclamation point on ... the day."

John Adams has been honored with the 2009 National Endowment for the Arts Opera Honors. "This award represents the greatest honor our nation bestows in opera, and recognizes individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to opera in the United States and have become cultural treasures of the nation," says the NEA. Adams's first opera, Nixon in China, will receive its Canadian premiere with the Vancouver Opera next March for the Cultural Olympiad 2010. Also included in the Olympic Games' arts celebration are performances by Kronos Quartet and by Laurie Anderson.

Allen Toussaint is back home in New Orleans and, as one would expect from the artist featured on the official JazzFest poster, playing a number of festival events, following the release of his new album, The Bright Mississippi. "You’re going to love this," says the Buffalo News of the new album in its four-star review. "Not to be missed." The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette gives the album an A, exclaiming, "Emotional, toetapping and richly spacious, this is one very cool album." Blurt says, "New Orleans could hardly ask for a better tribute."

The Black Keys play Midwest fests after being "one of the most impressive sets of the weekend" (JamBase) at Coachella ... Alarm Will Sound, St. Lawrence String Quartet play Adams ... David Byrne plays the Iberian peninsula ... Toumani Diabaté's in Vermont ... Richard Goode plays Bach in Albuquerque ... Emmylou Harris, Carolina Chocolate Drops meet up at MerleFest ... Kronos leads Riley's In C at Carnegie ... k.d. lang's in Vermont too ... The Low Anthem plays a hometown set, and in Vermont ... Joshua Redman takes Trio to Tokyo ... eighth blackbird plays Reich's Pulitzer Prize-winning piece in LA ... Allen Toussaint heads home to play New Orleans ... Dawn Upshaw sings Golijov in St. Paul ... Sara Watkins plays Philly and DC ... Wilco jam at New Orleans JazzFest ... and more ...