Kronos Quartet will give the New York premiere of Awakening: A Musical Meditation on the Anniversary of 9/11, for the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM)'s 2011 Next Wave Festival, with four consecutive nights of performances this week. Kronos and Nonesuch Records have partnered with BAM to give away a pair of tickets to the Opening Night performance this Wednesday. Enter here for your chance to see the first New York performance. Kronos Quartet performs live on WNYC's Soundcheck today at 2 PM ET.

Joshua Redman joins James Farm at Monterey Jazz Fest, where he's artist-in-residence ... Laurie Anderson, Lou Reed, John Zorn help open Roulette in Brooklyn ... Carolina Chocolate Drops are in Dallas ... Ben Folds teams up with the Minnesota Orchestra ... Kronos Quartet premiere new piece in Maryland ... k.d. lang is in Alaska ... The Low Anthem, Jessica Lea Mayfield head South ... Brad Mehldau, Chris Thile join up in London ... Pat Metheny kicks off US tour ... Randy Newman, Wanda Jackson perform at Austin City Limits Music Festival ... Allen Toussaint plays hometown Ponderosa Stomp ... and more ...

Brad Mehldau and Chris Thile have spent the past week in Europe on separate solo tours. The two come together for a special duo show at Wigmore Hall in London tonight, as part of the pianist's curatorship of the venue's Jazz Series. "Mehldau often applies his hypnotic improv approach to Broadway standards, bebop, folk-pop classics or the music of Radiohead," says the Guardian, "and Thile's fast-flowing long lines, and cherishing of catchy themes within the loosest spontaneous flights fit that very compatibly." Also in the Guardian, Mehldau has written an article on wisdom in music.

Pat Metheny launches a month-long, 20-city tour of the United States this weekend, joined by bassist Larry Grenadier. The concerts will take place in intimate settings throughout the US and include songs from Metheny's new solo album, What's It All About, along with new material and favorites from throughout his rich catalog. The tour closes with a special week's engagement at the Blue Note in New York City. Following the US tour, Metheny, Grenadier, and drummer Bill Stewart launch a European tour.

Jessica Lea Mayfield, who is currently touring the United States in support of her Nonesuch debut album, Tell Me, has just added a new set of US tour dates to follow in November, with stops across the South and up to Brooklyn, NY. Mayfield's current schedule also include several festival stops and previously announced dates with John Prine, the Avett Brothers, and the Drive-By Truckers. The deadline to enter the animated music video contest for the Tell Me album track "Blue Skies Again" is Thursday, September 22; the prize includes $500, the album on CD and vinyl, a t-shirt, and concert tickets.

k.d. lang and the Siss Boom Bang head back on the road tonight to resume their North American tour, performing music from their new album, Sing it Loud, plus favorites from throughout lang's career. lang and the band kick off the fall leg of their tour in the farthest Northwest, with three nights in Alaska, then swing east for shows from Maine to Florida, before heading west through Texas, Arizona, and Nevada, and back to California. Teddy Thompson supports.

James Farm—the collaborative band featuring Joshua Redman, Aaron Parks, Matt Penman, and Eric Harland—released its self-titled debut album earlier this year on Nonesuch, followed by several live performances that included a four-night residency at New York's Jazz Standard. As James Farm hits the road again, launching the next leg of its tour this Friday at the Monterey Jazz Festival, where Redman is artist-in-residence, the band has unveiled three videos from the Jazz Standard residency. Watch them here.

Steve Reich's latest album, WTC 9/11, is out next Tuesday. The composer's 75th birthday follows less than two weeks later, on October 3, and the celebrations abound. He is the subject of a special feature on iTunes titled The World of Steve Reich, part of a series that explores every facet of an iconic musician’s career—their roots, their catalog, and other artists they have influenced. Included are six multi-artist compilations, a best-of colleciton, and a sale on Reich's catalog. "We're speaking of the impact of an artist who has changed music as we know it," says iTunes, "and maybe even more importantly, as we will know it."

Ry Cooder was the guest on the BBC World Service arts program The Strand, discussing his new album, Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down. "When it comes to American music legends, they don't come much bigger than Ry Cooder," says host Anna McNamee. "What I love about this album is that in so many ways it's a distillation of some great American musics."

The Low Anthem launches its fall headlining tour of North America with a concert at Philadelphia's World Cafe Live tonight. After over 400 shows since the initial release of their album Oh My God, Charlie Darwin, the band is going to take a break from the road to create some new sounds following the tour, so this is the last run of shows in support of their latest album, Smart Flesh. In celebration of these songs and shows, Nonesuch and the band have teamed up with Paste magazine to give away a pair of tickets, a signed poster, and a Smart Flesh CD to one lucky winner for every upcoming concert listed here.

Björk's Biophilia project is the Icelandic artist’s most interdisciplinary project to date, comprising a studio album, an app, a new website, custom-made musical instruments, live shows, and educational workshops. The album is due out on October 11, two weeks after its initially scheduled release date. Björk has written a statement explaining why the move was made and offering lots of great news about the album in the process! Read the full text of Björk's note here.

Björk's forthcoming album, Biophilia, due out October 11, is featured in the latest episode of NPR's All Songs Considered, the show's Fall Music Preview. The show's contributors "talk about some of the releases they're most looking forward to coming out this fall." Host Bob Boilen offers Björk's latest single, "Moon," to the Fall Preview mix. "There's no one that makes music like this," says Boilen. "I'm so glad that there is a Björk in this world." Watch a preview video of the "Moon" app here.