Amadou & Mariam's Welcome to Mali gets "an enthusiastic double-'Buy It' rating" from the hosts of Chicago Public Radio's Sound Opinions, Jim DeRogatis (Chicago Sun-Times) and Greg Kot (Chicago Tribune). "During a rather dark, dismal, and dire week, this album was a constant source of sunshine," says DeRogatis. "This is joyous, celebratory music, absolutely, positively uplifting in its mix of Africa and the West. I love these guys to pieces." Kot concurs: "This is a great record ... I don't think I've heard a better album, beginning to end, than Welcome to Mali, in 2009." On NPR's All Songs Considered, host Bob Boilen says, "They have a deep history of making music together, but nothing quite like their new record  ... Welcome to Mali will surely be one of the best world music records of 2009."

Sara Watkins's self-titled Nonesuch debut is out this week, and, says the BBC, this founding member of Nickel Creek "steps out with a confident stride with her debut solo release." The review calls it "an assured debut ... Watkins' time in the spotlight is a triumph with her agile playing and the kind of voice that gives your goosebumps the shivers." Scotland on Sunday says "it's her affectingly authentic voice that makes her such a superb example of the new Americana." The Washington Post's Express Night Out says Sara's "performances are now in a league with the stylistically similar Allison Krauss." The Kansas City Star says it's an album "for anyone who likes the sound of a good singer and a good band hammering out good music."

The Amadou & Mariam song "Sabali" has grabbed a lot of attention as the opening track to their recent Nonesuch release, Welcome to Mali. Produced by Blur/Gorrillaz front man Damon Albarn, the song is listed among "the most intriguing tracks" this week, according to USA Today. RCRD LBL has chosen a Paul Epworth remix of this "electro-pop miracle" as its MP3 of the Day. Amadou & Mariam are also featured in yesterday's episode of WNYC's Soundcheck, in which New York Times writer Will Hermes follows up on his recent Times article on the changing sounds and perceptions of African music in a more diverse world.

Amadou & Mariam's Welcome to Mali, just out in the US on Nonesuch, is a Pick of the Week on WNYC's Soundcheck, which calls the album "another strong showing of their cosmopolitan sound." New Jersey's Star-Ledger says that, with the new album, the couple "show they have opened up to a new era of musical possibilities," featuring "a sophisticated but rough-edged sound that can evoke African village griot storytellers as well as psychedelic garage bands ... By album's end, they have held master classes in rock, funk, reggae and rap, not to mention African styles," concludes the Star-Ledger, and "crowned a long career with an album that effortlessly blends Africa and the West."

Amadou & Mariam are good at what they do, says NPR music critic Robert Christgau in an All Things Considered album review, and "never better than on their brand-new Welcome to Mali." He says the Damon Albarn–produced opening track, "Sabali," is "terrific" and shows that "Amadou and Mariam absorb ideas from anywhere and sound like they're having a ball." Entertainment Weekly says Albarn's "splendidly atmospheric keyboards and production" move the couple "beyond their comfort zone—much as globalist rocker Manu Chao did for the duo's 2005 breakthrough, Dimanche à Bamako." The Chicago Tribune says the new album "is bolder still" than their last, calling Welcome to Mali "an album that throws its arms around the world, and invites everyone to dance. It succeeds joyously." Flaunt says Amadou & Mariam "capture a feeling absent from many releases in the early 2000s: genuineness."

Dan Auerbach performed three songs off his Nonesuch solo debut, Keep It Hid—"Trouble Weighs a Ton," "When the Night Comes," and "Goin' Home"—in his appearance on today's episode of NPR's World Café. He also spoke with the show's host, David Dye, about the new record, on which, says Dye, Dan has "expanded stylistically ... its songs conceal a melancholy and introspective side ... Driven by reverb and riffs, Auerbach's solo work sounds authentic, blunt and powerful." In other news, Justin Timberlake has made it known he's a fan of The Black Keys. "I really love their Attack and Release," he says. "I thought that was a really great record."

"Composer, pianist and living legend Allen Toussaint has helped shape the sound of R&B, soul and funk while infusing a little bit of New Orleans into it," says KCRW in naming as yesterday's Top Tune the Thelonius Monk–penned title track of Toussaint's forthcoming Nonesuch solo debut, The Bright Mississippi. Toussaint will perform during both weeks of the 40th anniversary New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, which runs April 24–30 and May 1–3. Given his prominent place in the festival and the city's musical history, it's no surprise that Toussaint has made his way onto the official JazzFest 2009 poster, by artist James Michalopoulos.

Dan Auerbach was the featured guest on yesterday's episode of KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic. Dan and band perform more than half the songs off his recent Nonesuch solo debut, Keep It Hid, live in the KCRW studios. At the end of the set, the show's host, Jason Bentley, sighs, "Man, you got some soul, brother." His favorite album tracks, he says, "really caught my attention as just soulful blues-rock of the highest order."

Dan Auerbach's US tour, featuring music from Keep It Hid, his recent Nonesuch solo debut, continues tonight at Wonder Ballroom in Portland, Oregon. The Portland Mercury says Dan's new record "uncovers new corners of his talents. It's an instant classic ..." and expects he'll "give us a rock 'n' roll show of the highest order." Willamette Week says the album "emits sincerity and genuineness" and says "Auerbach’s poignant, emotionally charged lyrics and precise guitar work shine ...'" Dan's recent interview and performance at Minnesota Public Radio's The Current is now available online.

Dan Auerbach appeared on today's episode of NPR's newsmagazine Day to Day to discuss his new album, Keep It Hid, including the process of setting his father's lyrics to music, and the development of his singing voice. "The only thing I've ever tried to do is be myself," says Dan. "Never put on a voice, sing naturally. And that always seems to work best for me."

John Adams's 1985 piece The Chairman Dances is this week's selection for The NPR Classical 50, a series naming 50 essential recordings for everyone from first-time listeners to fanatics. "The idea here is that a foxtrot is being danced, but there's more than just the dance-like quality of the music that we hear," says critic Ted Libbey. "I find it very rich that Adams can pull all of these elements all together, and that you can hear this wonderful, exuberant and lush melody come out of this texture. It shows his ability to bring disparate pieces together in a way that does say something."

Allen Toussaint, fresh off his celebratory weekend at the Grammys, during which he was awarded the Trustees Award and performed on the live CBS telecast, is in the New York City studios of WNYC to talk with Soundcheck this afternoon about his forthcoming Nonesuch debut, The Bright Mississippi, and perform songs from the album. It is Toussaint's first solo record in more than a decade. Fans in New York City this weekend can also catch Toussaint perform live at Joe's Pub on Sunday.