New Releases
February 27, 2026Composer Sarah Kirkland Snider’s fifth full-length LP, the all-orchestral album Forward Into Light, was produced by Silas Brown and recorded by Metropolis Ensemble led by artistic director/conductor Andrew Cyr. It features Forward Into Light, inspired by the American women’s suffrage movement; the string orchestra and harp (Noël Wan) version of Drink the Wild Ayre; Eye of Mnemosyne, a work on memory, innovation, and culture; and Something for the Dark, a meditation on resilience. Snider says: “I chose to create an album of these four works because they share themes of perseverance, alliance, and evolution through dark and light—concepts that have been at the forefront of my mind in recent years."
For his first full-length solo album, Honora—which takes its name from a beloved family member—Flea composed and arranged the music, and also plays trumpet and bass throughout, joined by an elite crew of modern jazz visionaries: album producer and saxophonist Josh Johnson, guitarist Jeff Parker, bassist Anna Butterss, and drummer Deantoni Parks. The record features vocals from Flea, as well as friends Thom Yorke and Nick Cave. Mauro Refosco and Nate Walcott, among others, also join the band. Honora comprises six original songs, plus interpretations of tunes by George Clinton and Eddie Hazel, Jimmy Webb, Frank Ocean and Shea Taylor, and Ann Ronell.
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Composer Sarah Kirkland Snider’s fifth full-length LP, the all-orchestral album Forward Into Light, was produced by Silas Brown and recorded by Metropolis Ensemble led by artistic director/conductor Andrew Cyr. It features Forward Into Light, inspired by the American women’s suffrage movement; the string orchestra and harp (Noël Wan) version of Drink the Wild Ayre; Eye of Mnemosyne, a work on memory, innovation, and culture; and Something for the Dark, a meditation on resilience. Snider says: “I chose to create an album of these four works because they share themes of perseverance, alliance, and evolution through dark and light—concepts that have been at the forefront of my mind in recent years."
Malian balafon player Neba Solo and donso n’goni player Benego Diakité’s album A Djinn and a Hunter Went Walking—the first in a series of new releases in collaboration with longtime Nonesuch partner Nick Gold, former head of World Circuit Records—features the leading players of their traditional instruments: the marimba-like balafon, or bala, and donso n’goni, a hunter’s harp. On the album, co-produced by Gold, Ousmane Haïdara, and Sonny Johns, the acoustic instrumentals are complemented by vocals and percussion as well as touches of mellotron, guitar, and strings. The CD version includes a second disc of their original duo performances, unadorned, recorded in a Bamako garden under a mango tree. They started after the sun went down, and crickets can be heard chirping during the quiet moments.
The 15th anniversary edition of Carolina Chocolate Drops' 2010 Grammy–winning album Genuine Negro Jig, featuring founding band members Dom Flemons, Rhiannon Giddens, and Justin Robinson, includes the original Joe Henry–produced album and nine bonus tracks: seven previously unreleased tracks plus a 2025 remaster of “City of Refuge” and a 2025 mix of “Memphis Shakedown.” This release marks the album’s first time on vinyl since its original pressing in 2010.
After a nearly five-decade career as one of his generation’s defining rock bassists, time and space have finally allowed Flea to work with a dream band of modern jazz visionaries, returning to his first instrument and musical love, the trumpet, for a new album to be released in 2026 on Nonesuch. His original song “A Plea" is a preview. Written and performed by Flea, “A Plea” urges listeners to “build a bridge, shine a light, make something beautiful and see somebody, give it to somebody.” Featuring Flea on electric bass, vocals, and trumpet, the ensemble also includes double bassist Anna Butterss and guitarist Jeff Parker, as well as drummer Deantoni Parks, percussionist Mauro Refosco, alto flutist Rickey Washington, and trombonist Vikram Devasthali. Chris Warren joins on vocals, as does the song’s producer Josh Johnson, who also plays alto saxophone.
On Bach: Sonatas and Partitas, Vol. 2, Chris Thile performs Bach's Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004; Sonata No. 3 in C major, BWV 1005; and Partita No. 3 in E major, BWV 1006. For his second recording of Bach Violin Sonatas and Partitas, 12 years after the first volume, the mandolin virtuoso opted for a more personal approach, allowing himself to take liberties with the scores, which he recorded in multiple, somewhat untraditional, locations of personal significance. “My mentor, Edgar Meyer, has shown me ... you practice Bach ... because it makes your life better," Thile says. "Because it makes the world around you seem like a better, happier place. Because communing with something that beautiful, made by a human being, continuing to be made and enjoyed by so many human beings, makes you proud to be human ... I love practicing Bach, and I wanted to try and share how that ongoing process feels and sounds to me."
Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway featuring Ketch Secor offer their take on The Pogues' 1987 holiday classic with Kirsty MacColl, "Fairytale of New York."
On Touch, Tortoise's first new album since 2016, the groundbreaking group harnesses its collectivist songwriting approach to reconnect, recenter, and reinvigorate their sound for what is perhaps their most diverse release to date. While there are still excursions into the dusky, elegantly gnarled jazz ambience, Touch is perhaps most remarkable for the post-everything icons' unapologetic embrace of grand gesture. Re-engineered Krautrock, hand-cranked techno rave-ups, and pointillist spaghetti Western fanfares are all imbued with Tortoise's signature internal logic.