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Pat Metheny’s recording of John Zorn’s Tap: The Book of Angels, Vol. 20 from Zorn’s Masada Book Two is the first collaboration between the two artists. Besides his frequent collaborator, drummer Antonio Sanchez, Metheny plays all other instruments—guitars, sitar, tiples, bass, keyboards, orchestrionics, electronics, bandoneón, percussion, flugelhorn, and more—himself. The New York Times calls the album "an impressive feat of imagination, and a strikingly clear distillation of both artists’ distinctive languages." NPR says it's a "stunningly vivid sound world." The Independent concludes: "It's all dazzlingly virtuosic and evocative."

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."

For Record Store Day 2013, Iron and Wine, which made its Nonesuch Records debut with the release of the album Ghost on Ghost, releases a special 7" including two exclusive tracks unavailable anywhere else: "Next to Paradise" and "Dirty Dream." The 7" was cut by Bernie Grundman Studios and pressed at Pallas MFG in Diepholz, Germany.

Iron and Wine makes its Nonesuch Records debut with Ghost on Ghost, the fifth release from singer-songwriter Sam Beam under that pen name. The album was recorded in Brooklyn and produced by Beam’s longtime associate Brian Deck. "Every song feels lived in, and radiates palpable warmth," says American Songwriter; they "sound absolutely sublime." Uncut too calls it "sublime ... a work of immense beauty and scale."  The AP says: "Ghost on Ghost is a wonderfully produced and assembled record, propelled with joyous momentum even on tracks with darker lyrics ... With each successive album, Beam has been able to gradually expand and layer his sound with taste and dexterity."

Nomad, Tuareg guitarist, singer, and songwriter Bombino's Nonesuch debut album, was produced by The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach. NPR calls the pairing "inspired," noting that Bombino's "sound and style are alluring on a global scale." NPR's All Things Considered says it's "a landmark in African rock music." The Los Angeles Times says "anyone who has ever appreciated a master player make magic on a Fender ... will find comfort in Bombino’s music." Rolling Stone says: "A perfect match of sound and soul, the set introduces a new guitar hero, and confirms Auerbach’s arrival as a roots-music producer to be reckoned with." The BBC calls it "utterly, utterly fantastic."

Old Yellow Moon is the first official collaboration from Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell since Crowell joined Harris’ Hot Band in 1975. The 12-track duets album features songs written by Crowell as well as interpretations of songs by Hank DeVito, Roger Miller, Allen Reynolds, and others. Among the world-renowned musicians on the album are Stuart Duncan, Vince Gill, Bill Payne, and members of the original Hot Band. "It hearkens back to classic recordings like Harris' Elite Hotel and Crowell's Diamonds and Dirt," says NPR Music, "and brings the best out of the two veterans." 

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."

The Metropolitan Opera’s performance of John Adams’ Nixon in China, with the composer conducting, is here on Blu-ray and DVD together in one package. The Met’s production, staged by Peter Sellars and first created by the English National Opera, stars James Maddalena as Richard Nixon, a role he originated. The performance seen here was broadcast live in movie theaters around the world as part of The Met: Live in HD on February 12, 2011, ten days after the opera received its Met premiere. "Here, on film, is the most influential American opera of the past quarter-century," says the Financial Times. "Future generations will see Nixon in China as the composer intended."

Natalie Merchant has teamed up with award-winning children's book illustrator Barbara McClintock for a new picture book based on Leave Your Sleep, Merchant's album of classic children's poetry adapted to music. This beautiful hard-cover, 48-page, full-color book includes a CD with 19 songs. Merchant's musical renderings, selected from her highly praised album, share the stage with McClintock's richly imagined art to create a memorable reading, looking, and listening experience.