Pat Metheny and Orchestrion, his latest Nonesuch release and the focus of a worldwide tour, currently making its way through the United States, were the subject of a feature on the latest episode of NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday.

In the piece, NPR's Ashley Kahn takes a look at the historical precedent for Metheny's new creation and just how far from that earlier 19th-century incarnation the guitarist-composer has taken his own music-making device, with its phalanx of custom-made instruments played via solenoid switches and pneumatics, into the 21st-century.

Metheny gives Kahn an up-close look at his orchestrion in the Brooklyn rehearsal space where he was preparing it for the long tour that lay ahead. "Seeing the orchestrion in action is like watching Santa's workshop," Kahn explains, "if Santa was a jazz cat."

Given the complexity of the orchestrion, with all its working parts, taking it on tour may be a logistical challenge, but one for which Metheny is certainly prepared. Should any technical difficulties arise, he's more than ready to fill in as needed with a guitar solo.

"And with that," says Kahn, "you can't lose."

You can listen to the complete segment online now at npr.org.

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There's also a Q&A with Metheny and interviewer Philip Booth in All About Jazz and an extensive profile of Metheny and the project in the Los Angeles Daily News, just in time for the Orchestrion tour stop at Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles tonight. You'll find the article at dailynews.com.

The San Diego Union Tribune's pop music critic George Varga recently described the Orchestrion album as "technically dazzling," and advised his readers "run—don’t walk" to this Wednesday's show at San Diego's Spreckels Theatre "for a truly eye-popping and ear-popping experience." Read more at signonsandiego.com.

The Santa Barbara Independent says "nothing quite prepares us for his new solo project." Previewing Tuesday's show at UC Santa Barbara's Campbell Hall, the Independent's Josef Woodard calls the album "wonderful," echoing Varga's sentiments when he says "the chance to hear this effect manifested live should be one for the books and ears and minds ... This one ranks highly on the 'be there' index." Read more at independent.com.

For more information on the Orchestrion tour dates, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour. To pick up a copy of Orchestrion on vinyl or CD with the complete album included as high-quality MP3s at no additional cost, head to the Nonesuch Store.