"When you've had a six decade long career at the forefront of contemporary music, and your record label issues a 27-disc box set called Collected Works, you tend to want to look back a bit," says New Sounds host John Schaefer. "Steve Reich is the subject of such a box set." Reich is also Schaefer's guest for the full hour of the show, in which they do look back to hear and discuss some of those earlier works as well as two new works in the set, Jacob’s Ladder (2023) and Traveler’s Prayer (2020). You can hear the episode via WNYC here.

Ringdown's Danni Lee Parpan and Caroline Shaw, whose debut album together, Lady on the Bike, is out May 9, stopped by for the Nonesuch Selects video series, in which artists visit the Nonesuch office, pick some of their favorite albums from the music library, and share a few words on their choices. The duo chose recordings by Hurray for the Riff Raff, Laurie Anderson, Philip Glass, Vagabon, Mountain Man, k.d. lang, and Cécile McLorin Salvant, and Parpan recommends a few by an artist named Caroline Shaw.

Congratulations to Darcy James Argue, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Ambrose Akinmusire, Mary Halvorson, and Brad Mehldau on their JJA Jazz Association's 2025 JJA Jazz Awards nominations: Argue for Composer of the Year and Arranger of the Year, which he won last year, and, with Secret Society, Large Ensemble of the Year; Salvant for Female Vocalist of the Year, which she won last year, and, with pianist Sullivan Fortner Duo of the Year; Akinmusire for Trumpeter of the Year, which he won last year; Halvorson for Guitarist of the Year, which she won last year; and Mehldau for Pianist of the Year.

Rhiannon Giddens reunites with her former Carolina Chocolate Drops bandmate Justin Robinson on What Did the Blackbird Say to the Crow, out now. Produced by Giddens and Joseph "joebass" DeJarnette, the album features Giddens on banjo and Robinson on fiddle, playing 18 of their favorite North Carolina tunes. Many were learned from their late mentor, legendary North Carolina Piedmont musician Joe Thompson; one is from another musical hero, the late Etta Baker. Giddens and Robinson recorded outdoors at Thompson’s and Baker’s North Carolina homes, as well as the former plantation Mill Prong House, accompanied by the sounds of nature. You can watch eight performance videos from the album here. Giddens leads her first-ever festival, Biscuits & Banjos, in Durham, NC, next weekend, then goes on tour with Robinson.

Randy Newman was the musical guest on Netflix's Everybody's Live with John Mulaney. You can watch him perform "I Think It's Going to Rain Today" and "Political Science" here. Also on the episode were David Letterman, Hannibal Buress, Leanne Morgan, and Nikki Glaser. 

Ringdown—the duo of Danni Lee Parpan and Caroline Shaw—has shared the single “Emotional Absentee” from their upcoming debut album, Lady on the Bike, out May 9. The song, about trying to create a deeper connection with someone but realizing they are emotionally unavailable, features indie electro-pop group New Body Electric. You can watch the visualizer for it here. Ringdown says: "The moral of ‘Emotional Absentee’ is that when someone shows you who they are, pay attention, and when they tell you they’ve changed, run."

Cal Performances at the University of California, Berkeley, has announced its 2025–26 concert season, including Zellerbach Hall performances by Kronos Quartet, Jeremy Denk, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Chris Thile, and Rhiannon Giddens and Silkroad Ensemble.

"Every once in a while, you come across someone so skilled with an instrument that it makes you reconsider what you thought was possible," NPR's World Cafe contributing host Kallao says his guest. "That’s how it feels to watch Yasmin Williams play the acoustic guitar." Williams spoke with Kallao and performed songs from her new album, Acadia, and more. "It’s one of the most inventive and exciting performances we’ve had on the show." You can watch it here.

Dirty Projectors' David Longstreth performs at Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez rally in LA. Mary Halvorson plays Cully Jazz in Switzerland with pianist Sylvie Courvoisier. Brad Mehldau, Christian McBride, and Marcus Gilmore tour Houston, Indianapolis, and Kalamazoo. Mandy Patinkin and Nathan Gunn are at University of Notre Dame. Punch Brothers close out The Energy Curfew Music Hour season two in NYC. Cécile McLorin Salvant performs in Jacksonville and San Antonio. Molly Tuttle celebrates Duane Eddy at Opry House in Nashville.

Singer, songwriter, and guitarist Molly Tuttle was joined by Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show on the Grand Ole Opry stage in Nashville to perform "San Joaquin," a song they co-wrote for her 2023 album with Golden Highway, City of Gold, which won the Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album. You can watch it here. Tuttle returns to the Opry House in Nashville on Sunday for The Grand Ole Opry’s Titan of Twang: A Celebration of Duane Eddy.

Guitarist/composer Mary Halvorson's new album, About Ghosts, is due June 13, on Nonesuch Records. The album, produced by Deerhoof's John Dieterich, features eight new compositions by Halvorson, performed with her sextet Amaryllis, the improvisatory band featured on her critically praised albums Amaryllis, Belladonna, and Cloudward: Patricia Brennan (vibraphone), Nick Dunston (bass), Tomas Fujiwara (drums), Jacob Garchik (trombone), and Adam O’Farrill (trumpet). Saxophonists Immanuel Wilkins and Brian Settles join the ensemble on five tunes, and Halvorson adds Pocket Piano synthesizer overdubs on a number of tracks. Halvorson and Amaryllis will tour the US in September. You can get tickets and watch the video for the album track "Carved From" here.

Congratulations to Philip Glass, recipient of the World Soundtrack Awards' Lifetime Achievement Award, in recognition for his scores to films like The Hours, Kundun, Mishima, and more. He will be celebrated at the awards ceremony and a film music concert in Ghent in October. Glass was given the award in NYC by Dirk Brossé, who will lead the Brussels Philharmonic in performing the composer's work in the concert.