Jim Dickinson, the famed pianist, producer, and a central figure in the Memphis music world, died last Saturday, August 15, at the age of 67. Over the years, Dickinson contributed to a number of seminal albums, including Aretha Franklin's Spirit in the Dark, the Rolling Stones' Sticky Fingers, Bob Dylan's Time Out of Mind, and, not least, nearly a dozen records with Ry Cooder, including Nonesuch's Hurricane Katrina benefit album, Our New Orleans.

Two weeks ago, music writer and critic Michael Steinberg passed away at the age of 80. Mr. Steinberg was a frequent contributor of essays and liner notes to Nonesuch recordings. Nonesuch Editorial Coordinator Ronen Givony writes about working with Mr. Steinberg.

David Drew, the British writer, editor, recording producer, and music publisher, has died at the age of 78. As a board member and the head of the contemporary music department at Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers, Drew was instrumental in developing the relationship between Nonesuch and Polish composer Henryk Górecki, a close friend of his, and was involved in the now-famous Nonesuch recording of Górecki's Third Symphony, for which he wrote the liner note. Nonesuch President Bob Hurwitz shares a page from his personal diary on the day of the recording session.

Michael Steinberg, the music critic, author, frequent contributor of essays to Nonesuch recordings, and greatly respected colleague, died on Sunday, July 26, at hospice in Edina, Minnesota, at the age of 80. The Boston Globe, where Steinberg was classical music critic from 1964 to 1976, quotes composer John Adams's recent memoir: "Michael’s ability to render, in beautiful and uncluttered English prose, complex and subtle musical issues set the gold standard for how one communicates about music in words."

All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen made an appearance on All Things Considered to discuss his favorite songs from the past six months. First on his list was The Low Anthem’s “Charlie Darwin,” from their recent Nonesuch release, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin. “I get chills the moment I hear this guy’s voice,” said Boilen, referring to band member Ben Knox Miller. 

Joshua Redman wraps up a three-day engagement at the Montreal International Jazz Festival tonight at the Théâtre Maisonneuve, featuring the band from his recent Nonesuch release, Compass. In anticipation of the performance, Redman was profiled in the Montreal Gazette, which describes Compass as "a refined experience," featuring "sound sculptures straddling the line between freedom and formalism."

Wilco (the album) is out now, and, while the band is on tour, the celebration is on in the group's hometown of Chicago. Reviews continue to come in from the UK: The Observer says it's "undeniably lovely." The Sunday Express gives it a perfect five stars calling it "an album of delicate, compact pop so perfect that the moment it ends you’ll want to play it again." The Times gives it four stars, calling it "a definitive work" for the band, with "several of the most emotionally generous songs of [Tweedy's] life." The Contra Costa Times calls Saturday's show at Berkeley's Greek Theatre a "magic night," the band "at its musical peak," and its performance "flawless."

Any way it's told, the story of Nonesuch Records, through its now 45-year history, is and has always been about the music. FLYP, a new online multimedia magazine, has dedicated its latest issue in its entirety to telling that story, through 50-plus pages, more than a dozen articles, and scores of images, video interviews and performances, streaming audio, personal journal excerpts, an interactive name-that-tune, and a jukebox of songs to select and play from the Nonesuch catalog.

The Nonesuch Records website, which was relaunched last summer, has been nominated for a Webby Award, the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, for Best Music Site. It is the only record label site nominated in any category this year. Also in the running in the Music category are NPR Music, Pitchfork, 8tracks, and Moshcam. Nonesuch.com was built by Sisu, Inc., an award-winning design studio that creates design and technology solutions for web and mobile. All nominees are eligible in the People's Voice voting as well, so share your voice at by voting at webbyawards.com.

In a segment exploring the recent and, in many ways, unexpected resurgence of vinyl, ABC News's Nightline says, "Those big old discs are back in a big way," with sales up 89% last year. Anchor Terry Moran spoke with Washington, DC's Crooked Beats record store owner Bill Daley, who shows Moran Wilco's Sky Blue Sky LP as an example of a recent innovation in the field: the inclusion of the complete album on CD, inside the LP sleeve. Wilco was an early pioneer in offering both formats in a single package with the release of that record in May 2007.

Betty Freeman, an ardent supporter of contemporary composers like John Adams, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass, died at her home in Los Angeles this past Sunday, January 4, at the age of 87. Freeman will be remembered for her commitment to new music, commissioning such seminal works as Reich's Different Trains. She was also an accomplished photographer, deftly capturing the composers she supported, as in the cover photo of the Steve Reich's Works: 1965-1995, pictured here, taken during a 1976 rehearsal of Music for 18 Musicians.

Since the last Nonesuch Journal entry of 2008, which laid out scores of year-end best-of lists featuring Nonesuch albums and artists, still more critical praise has come in placing this music among the year's best.