September
MADELEINE PEYROUX A vocalist who emerged in the mid-90's from singing in the New Orleans streets, Ms. Peyroux could inhabit Billie Holiday and Edith Piaf, doing the tragic, pinched-voice thing perfectly. She still can and does â?? that little voice remains somehow central to her â?? but on "Careless Love," her first album in eight years, she enlarges and updates the repertory, wading into the Elliott Smith and Jesse Harris catalogs. Tuesday. Rounder.
TEGAN AND SARA Smarty-pants teenage wallflowers, don't give up hope. The next Tegan and Sara album arrives next week. "So Jealous" is 14 high-school vignettes rendered by two young lesbian sister singer-songwriters with a more than decent band. There eventually had to be a midway point between the Indigo Girls and Sleater-Kinney, and this is it. Tuesday. Sanctuary.
THE THRILLS Scrawny Irish gentlemen with an incredible aptitude for absorbing 70's American pop, from Neil Young to the Band to Bruce Springsteen to Todd Rundgren, the Thrills have settled into that ever-available genius pop-band slot. This doesn't necessarily mean high sales for their second album, "Let's Bottle Bohemia," nor does it mean that they inspire keen identification; it just means that a lot of college kids will be satisfied. Tuesday. Virgin.
THE GREAT JAZZ TRIO The final recordings of the great jazz-playing brothers Hank and Elvin Jones (Elvin died earlier this year) are on "Someday My Prince Will Come." Richard Davis rounds out the trio. Tuesday. 88's/Columbia.
PETER CINCOTTI A slick, clear-voiced young crooner in the Harry Connick Jr. mold, Mr. Cincotti has the sense to load his second album, "On the Moon," with durable standards. But there are mega-kitsch originals as well, finely tuned to older sensibilities. Unlike cheeky Jamie Cullum, Mr. Cincotti has an ear for the musical language of his grandparents' generation. Tuesday. Concord.
ZAP MAMA The Congolese singer and songwriter Marie Daulne, who records under the name Zap Mama, has zeroed in on neo-soul for her new musical template, in particular the Philadelphia wrecking crew of musicians and rappers in the Roots, with their small constellation of associated figures: Common, Talib Kweli, Erykah Badu. All those artists make appearances on "Ancestry in Progress," and the songs consciously mix up cultures: French lyrics, Cuban montunos, reggae and hip-hop rhythms. Tuesday. Luaka Bop/V2.
THE FAINT "Wet From Birth," this Omaha band's first full studio record in three years during which it and its local brothers and sisters became extremely fashionable, sounds like futuristic teenage party rock. Tuesday. Saddle Creek.
BLOC PARTY By the mysterious consensus of indie-rock journalism and aesthetics, everyone's supposed to love Franz Ferdinand. But this comparable English band, flying the flag of early-80's funk and punk, gives a much better jolt; its singer, Kele Okereke, is the gulping, gasping opposite of the self-assured crooner Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand. The band's first EP, "Bloc Party," already released in England, now hits America. Tuesday. Dim Mak. (The band will play on Sept. 30 at the Knitting Factory, 74 Leonard Street, TriBeCa, 212-219-3006.)
TEARS FOR FEARS Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith were last seen in the 1980's, exploring scream therapy and trying to write neo-hippie anthems that would outdo "All You Need Is Love." They've returned with "Everybody Loves a Happy Ending." Tuesday. Universal.
DIZZEE RASCAL He's done it again: "Showtime," the British rapper Dizzee Rascal's second album, gusts with more of the enthusiasm, self-assuredness and totally foreign version of rhythm that he introduced on "Boy in da Corner." You can't replicate teenage intuition, so there's a more rehearsed quality to the new album; the connections to dancehall are clearer, and the lovely awkwardness of that first album isn't quite there. But the first time wasn't luck. Tuesday. XL/Matador.
BRANFORD MARSALIS "Eternal" is a new album of ballads, with his usual quartet, including the pianist Joey Calderazzo, the bassist Eric Revis and the drummer Jeff (Tain) Watts. Tuesday. Marsalis Music.
ALICE COLTRANE In her own way, she's as much of a star as the 60's ever produced in jazz, not for being the greatest pianist who ever lived but for embodying the Egyptology/astral plane/Sufi mysticism of that time so completely. On "Translinear Light," the first commercial album she's made since opening an ashram in California in the late 70's, she teams up with solid rhythm sections, including the bassists Charlie Haden and James Genus and the drummers Jack DeJohnette and Jeff Watts, as well as her and John Coltrane's two saxophone-playing sons, Ravi and Oran. Tuesday. Verve.
BRAD MEHLDAU Mr. Mehldau already has an abundance of live recordings for a discography that spans only 10 years. But the idea of the performance as sacrament has worked for Keith Jarrett, whose fans never lose their appetite for his endless stream of live CD's; and Mr. Mehldau hasn't yet done a concert album of solo piano. Therefore, "Live in Tokyo," with songs by Gershwin, Porter, Monk, Mehldau, Nick Drake and Radiohead. Tuesday. Nonesuch. (Mr. Mehldau plays at the Village Vanguard with a quartet including the bassist Larry Grenadier, the drummer Jorge Rossy and the saxophonist Mark Turner, Sept. 28-Oct. 3.)
NELLY The extravagance of a concept double-CD with each disc intended for a completely different mindset worked beautifully for OutKast last year. R. Kelly caught on to the idea first â?? his "Happy People/U Saved Me" double-disc came out last month â?? but Nelly's right behind him, proposing two discs: the first courts kids in the clubs ("Sweat") and the second gives professional grown-ups something more mentholated ("Suit"). They will apparently be sold and marketed separately and released on the same day. Tuesday. Fo Reel/Universal.
ZOMBIES The Zombies broke up in 1967; now the keyboardist Rod Argent and the singer Colin Blunstone have reunited in a banner year for reunions and re-enactments (see below for news on Brian Wilson, the Incredible String Band and the Pixies). "As Far as I Can See . . ." is the group's new album. Tuesday. 14. Rhino. (The Zombies perform at Town Hall on Oct. 13, with Arthur Lee's Love.)
MASTERS OF INDIAN MUSIC The World Music Institute puts on a two-part concert with two prominent North Indian musicians: Veena Sahasrabuddhe, who sings the devotional songs called bhajans and songs in the improvised khyal form; and Partha Chatterjee, the sitarist. Saturday. Symphony Space.
www.worldmusicinstitute.org ELVIS COSTELLO The 50-year-old Mr. Costello will put out two completely different new albums, both arriving on the same day. "The Delivery Man" (Lost Highway) is a bluesy rock album by Elvis Costello and the Imposters, including the drummer Pete Thomas, the keyboardist Steve Nieve and the bassist Davey Faragher, recorded in Oxford and Clarksdale, Miss., with appearances by Lucinda Williams and Emmylou Harris. "Il Sogno" (Deutsche Grammophon) is Mr. Costello's first crack at a ballet score for symphony orchestra. Sept. 21.
BEN HARPER AND THE BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA Strangely enough, the Blind Boys of Alabama asked Ben Harper to produce their new album. He plays on it too, with his band the Innocent Criminals; the full collaboration, "There Will Be a Light," combines spirituals and a Jeff Buckley song. Sept. 21. Virgin.
DON BYRON At the high moments of the New York alternative-jazz scene, Mr. Byron offered his interpretations of klezmer or Latin jazz or the work of unjustly forgotten jazz bandleaders. There's also a concept behind "Ivey-Divey," his best album in years, but it doesn't drive the thing. The record pays homage to Lester Young's 1946 trio recordings with the same instrumentation (here Mr. Byron puts down the clarinet, his usual instrument, for a tenor saxophone, while Jason Moran takes Nat King Cole's place on piano and Jack DeJohnette takes Buddy Rich's on drums) but different repertory, from originals to electric-era Miles Davis to "I Want to Be Happy." Sept. 21. Blue Note. (The trio performs at the Thalia at Symphony Space, Oct. 8.)
DEVENDRA BANHART It doesn't seem like a good sign that one of the most prolific writers and electrifying performers of the new folk-freak scene is releasing outtakes by his third album. But the recording session for last year's "Rejoicing in the Hands" yielded 54 songs, so the balance will end up on "Nino Rojo." Sept. 21. Young God.
THE BAD PLUS With a bona fide jazz pianist (Ethan Iverson) and bassist (Reid Anderson) and a slightly more rockish drummer (David King), the Bad Plus has baited rock-haters by working rock-radio hits into its repertory. The band's semi-joking gestures continue â?? the latest cover it's been playing is Queen's "We Are the Champions" â?? but so does its more serious side, in strong original compositions, especially by the undersung Mr. Anderson. Sept. 21-26. Village Vanguard.
CHARLIE ROBISON Recording for an indie after three albums with Sony, Mr. Robison remains deeply entrenched in the Austin country music mafia. "Good Times" shows the unbroken trail of Lone Star beer extending from the mass-popular (his wife, Emily Robison, is one of the Dixie Chicks) to the obscure (one of the songs here is by Terry Allen, the visual artist and maker of fine cult records). Sept. 21. Dualtone.
RTX Nearly 20 years ago, Jennifer Herrema and Neil Hagerty looked like perfect rock stars and made almost impenetrably weird music as Royal Trux. In the 90's, horse-after-cart style, they created a credible, bottom-heavy group sound sound to catch up with their image. Since then, Mr. Hagerty has written a widely unread novel and Ms. Herrema has done some modeling for Calvin Klein, and they have continued to play frustratingly ambivalent live shows. Now that the couple have separated, Ms. Herrema has commandeered the legacy, renaming the band RTX; its first album, "Transmaniacon," trades on the most straightforward rock and metal side of the old Trux. Sept. 21. Drag City.
CONVERGE Most bands at the crossroads of metal and punk really belong in one camp or the other; all the rest is pretense or misplaced desire. But Converge, making music that's cathartic and tied up in knots, has ruled the zone for 13 years. "You Fail Me," its new album, doesn't end the streak. Sept. 21. Epitaph.
GREEN DAY "American Idiot" is the next installment from a still exemplary neo-punk band. Populists that they are, their version of a political album focuses not on the keepers of power, but on daily life in Consumerville. It also happens to be â?? and try to say it without smirking â?? a rock opera. Sept. 21. Reprise.
SPALDING ROCKWELL A quickly fashionable band that came up through New York's electroclash scene, Spalding Rockwell seems to be a good old ordinary pop group posing as something more exotic: despite the weird filters and mixing, it's Blondie time again. "Kate" is the group's first album. Sept. 21. Defend.
SKYE SWEETNAM Sixteen and rockin', Skye Sweetnam is today's pop-music equivalent of Josie and the Pussycats; "Noise From the Basement" presents a superslick pidgin translation of current rock and the Ramones, aimed at girls about five years younger than she is. Sept. 21. Capitol.
THE CLASH "London Calling" was the album that gave the Clash its first significant American hits and created what has been a nearly unbreakable line of praise from rock critics. For its 25th-anniversary edition, extra tapes from the sessions, found by the group's guitarist Mick Jones, have been added. It's a double disc plus a DVD. Sept. 21. Sony Legacy.
MARIA SCHNEIDER JAZZ ORCHESTRA Some feel that Ms. Schneider's big-band music has been revelatory from the word go, 15 years ago or so, but I think the music on "Concert in the Garden" â?? her first album distributed by the Internet-based company Artist Share (available at
www.mariaschneider.com) â?? reaches a new level of beauty and complexity. The orchestra, which has remained remarkably intact over that decade and a half, plays a four-day residence. Sept. 23-26. Jazz Standard.
INCREDIBLE STRING BAND Forefathers of the weird experimental folk now being played by Devendra Banhart and Joanna Newsom, the Incredible String Band, from London, made albums in the 60's and 70's that were loved or reviled, probably depending on how you felt at the time about traditional mainstream folk. Two of its founding members, Mike Heron and Clive Palmer, are taking the band out on its first American tour in 30 years; the duo is augmented by the bassist Gavin Dickie and the "female multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Fluff." The Hook, 18 Commerce Street, Brooklyn, Sept. 24. (718) 797-3007.
www.thehookmusic.com. Joe's Pub, the Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street, at Astor Place, Sept. 25. (212) 239-6200.
www.publictheater.org PANDA BEAR One of the members of Animal Collective, once a New York band but now a kind of goofily mysterious multimedia cabal, puts forth his latest excursion into the center of his brain; "Young Prayer," with reasonably accurate high vocals, acoustic guitar and hand-clapping, occasionally sounds like Syd Barrett playing flamenco, or a 12-year-old altar boy on acid. Sept. 28. Paw Tracks.
` "CAN'T YOU HEAR ME CALLIN": BLUEGRASS â?? 80 YEARS OF AMERICAN MUSIC' The bluegrass anthology to beat all, in four CD's. It originates from the corporation that houses Columbia Records, but it's not just the Columbia bluegrass story: tracks from many labels, judiciously chosen, have been licensed. Sept. 28. Sony Legacy.
GONZALO RUBALCABA This Cuban jazz pianist returns on "Paseo" with his New Cuban Quartet, a technically dazzling group, and a different style from his more emotive, slow-moving trio albums of the last five years. Sept. 28. Blue Note.
INTERPOL One of New York's more accurate re-enactors of early-80's post-punk â?? leaning toward Joy Division as the model â?? Interpol created a fast following; with "Antics," its second album, the band will try to expand its audience. Sept. 28. Matador.
DR. LONNIE SMITH If you're a Hammond organist in jazz, playing the basic formula for tenor-and-organ music, it helps if your music has a certain aggression. Dr. Smith does the opposite, retreating into the mist of deep funk. His mysterious restraint keeps paying dividends on "Too Damn Hot," as does his interplay with the guitarist Peter Bernstein. Sept. 28. Palmetto.
BLUES EXPLOSION The band's putative leader, Jon Spencer, insists that the trio is an equal partnership; as such, on "Damage," the band spreads the democracy further with a farrago of producers and unlikely guests, including Chuck D, James Chance and the English singer Martina Topley-Bird. Sept. 28. Sanctuary.
JOSS STONE On "Mind, Body and Soul," the second album by Ms. Stone, the teenage English blonde soul singer who can channel Aretha Franklin, she meets the real world. She keeps a few of the antiquated soul gestures (Hammond organ, horn charts, Curtis Mayfield-like guitar figures), but wisely throws others away. And she makes a lot more sense when she holds forth like Christina Aguilera. Sept. 28. S-Curve.
BRIAN WILSON The grandfather of candy-colored mind expansion in pop music brings out an album that is new and old at the same time: a newly rerecorded version of "Smile," his never-released 60's collaboration with Van Dyke Parks. Sept. 28. Nonesuch. (Mr. Wilson will perform the entire album, with a full band, on tour; he appears at Carnegie Hall on Oct. 12-13, 212-247-7800.) A related article is on Page 67.
MILES DAVIS If you thought all of Miles Davis's 60's quintet material had already been rereleased, you're not wrong, but you're thinking about the music of the 60's quintet, the great one. The seven-CD set "Seven Steps: The Complete Columbia Recordings of Miles Davis (1963-64)" collects the 60's material from before the cohesion of the Herbie Hancock-Wayne Shorter-Ron Carter-Tony Williams band; it involves George Coleman and Sam Rivers, playing wonderfully, as musicians tended to do around Miles. And at the end there is one live disc of the great band, with a previously unreleased "Stella by Starlight." Sept. 28. Sony Legacy.
SHAWNNA Ludacris's protégée, Shawnna is the daughter of the blues guitarist Buddy Guy and has in her rapping some of her father's speed and intensity. "Worth Tha Weight" is her first album. Sept. 28. Def Jam.
THE USED The best rock band ever to come out of Orem, Utah, the Used needs only to produce more gnashing guitar songs for Bert McCracken to howl through; its basic group sound remains secure. "In Love and Death" is the group's second album. Sept. 28. Reprise.
DANILO PEREZ TRIO Mr. Perez is one of the most rhythmically and harmonically sophisticated pianists in jazz, and his collaborations in the past few years with Wayne Shorter and Steve Lacy, as well as his own ambitious solo records, have been worth hearing. Sept. 30-Oct. 3. Jazz Standard.
October
HELMET With "Size Matters" we see the return, after seven years' absence, of a band that made important connections between indie-rock and metal in the 1990's, as well as waking up the world to the beauty of highly tuned snare drums. Oct. 5. Interscope.
HOLLY WILLIAMS Hank Williams's granddaughter, and she's a different animal from her father, Hank Jr., and her half-brother Hank III. No rebel country-rock, no metal flirtations, no family-tradition determinism. Her disposition points the other way: "The Ones We Never Knew," her first album, presents slightly self-possessed songs about loss and breakups, folk-rock honesty for triple-A radio. Oct. 5. Universal South.
KAKI KING Ms. King's quiet acoustic-guitar virtuosity, with hammering folk patterns and altered tunings that might remind you of Michael Hedges or Leo Kottke, carries new connotations; on "Legs to Make Us Longer" she's updating a small and very male tradition for a new era of folk music. Oct. 5. Epic.
KATRINA ELAM A self-titled first album by country's new 20-year-old belting singer-songwriter, with all the right biographical details: she was first noticed at 9, at a 4-H talent show in Oklahoma. Produced by Tony Brown. Oct. 5. Universal South.
TOM WAITS Mr. Waits continues to shape sound in weird ways, making monstrous, rusty-screen-door American roots music with surreal lyrics; on "Real Gone" he has the guitarist Marc Ribot, who helped him create a new sound on the album "Swordfishtrombones," on board again. Oct. 5. Anti-.
GILLES PETERSON A nearly irresistible party-mix album by an international D.J. of reliable taste, "Gilles Peterson in Brazil" strings together Brazilian pop of the 60's and 70's on its first disc and current Brazilian artists like Otto and Patricia Marx on its second. Oct. 5. Ether/Caroline.
FATBOY SLIM Other forces in pop music may be making grim prognostications about the election and urging you to vote, but nothing gets in between Fatboy Slim and a party; his new album, "Palookaville," contains a version of Steve Miller's hit "The Joker" with vocals by Bootsy Collins. Oct. 5. Astralwerks.
R.E.M. "Leaving New York," the first single from the band's next album, "Around the Sun," is strangely mushy and vague â?? not the statement one might expect from a band whose election-time message has become increasingly political. Oct. 5. Warner. (R.E.M. will perform at Madison Square Garden, Nov. 4.)
CAKE Cake can't shake its rap for glib irony, but the band has something on you if you think it's merely a joke. "Pressure Chief," its fifth album, is more of the group's trebly post-new wave with smart lyrics and a trumpet player; love it or hate it, it's a coherent group sound. Oct. 5. Columbia.
WILCO Still seen as the saviors of rock, mostly to their annoyance, Jeff Tweedy and company have at least grown more comfortable aesthetically and physically; you probably won't see Mr. Tweedy harangue his adoring audience anymore, and you'll see a tighter control over their sound. Oct. 5-6. Radio City Music Hall, with Fiery Furnaces. (212) 307-7171.
www.ticketmaster.com ALBERT AYLER Honking, testifying and shrieking through his tenor saxophone, over original melodies that sound like lost marches or hymns from the Civil War era, Albert Ayler built his own bolt-hole within 1960's jazz: despite his technical limitations, there was nobody like him. (He died in 1970.) People tend to know only his work from 1964 to 1967, though, and "Holy Ghost," a meticulous and thorough boxed set, should correct that, showing the early Charlie Parker enthusiast and the late flirtations with rhythm and blues. It contains nine CD's of rare and unissued material, including remarkable live performances and interviews. Oct. 5. Revenant.
ZAKIR HUSSAIN AND AMJAD ALI KHAN Two masters of Indian classical music, a tabla player and a sarod player respectively, Mr. Hussain and Mr. Khan have recorded and performed together before; theirs is a partnership of flamboyant talents that, at its best, transcends flamboyancy in favor of intuitive communication. Oct. 9. Town Hall.
www.worldmusicinstitute.org JOSEPH ARTHUR One of the more emotionally ponderous singer-songwriters in rock moved his base of operations from New York to New Orleans last year, the better to soak up the dark side; "Our Shadows Will Remain," his new album, shimmers with stylized pain and new production techniques. Oct. 12. Vector.
MOS DEF His second album, "The New Danger," squeezed out between acting commitments, will not be the full-length rock-band experiment Mos Def has been fitfully working on with his band, Black Jack Johnson; it's mostly straight hip-hop. Oct. 12. Geffen.
BLOOD BROTHERS Rock bands don't get a lot more surging, yelpy and nervous than the Blood Brothers, from Seattle; "Crimes," their third album, reminds you of the thrills unleashed by the early-80's band Die Kreuzen, which turned punk's monochromatic formula into color-splattered explosions. There's a lot going on here; their albums, dense and unnerving, take a little while to make sense. Oct. 12. V2.
YUNG WUN His first single from "The Dirtiest Thirstiest," produced by Swizz Beats, put his rugged Southern rap over a college marching-band beat â?? a great idea. Oct. 12. J.
THE JAZZ PASSENGERS Always interested in mixing jazz with other media, the Jazz Passengers play a live original score to the 1954 3-D movie "Creature From the Black Lagoon" (3-D glasses provided by the theater). Oct. 14. Symphony Space.
JIN "The days of the pork fried rice and the chicken wings coming to your house by me is over/ Y'all gon' learn Chinese," raps Jin, the first Chinese-American b-boy to be marketed on a grand scale. He's with the Ruff Ryders Crew, and his first album, "The Rest Is History," affords him the full-on treatment, including a Kanye West production on the single "I Gotta Love." Oct. 19. Virgin.
LE TIGRE An agitated political rock band that has started to shed its spindly, self-destructive, art-project characteristics; on "This Island" it sounds built to last. Oct. 19. Strummer/Universal.
ELLIOTT SMITH Those who liked Elliott Smith's music but aren't themselves perpetually at emotional ebb tide might be genuinely spooked by "From a Basement on the Hill," the final recordings he made before his death last October. There has still been no ruling on whether it was suicide or murder, but the songs on this album, typically well constructed, pop-classicist and morose, make the difference seem academic: he was living on the dark side, and his last songs about depression, addiction and death are mostly unmetaphorical. If you can take the gloom, it's almost certainly the best Elliott Smith album since "Either/Or." Oct. 19. Anti-.
CHICKS ON SPEED This American-Australian-German trio, part band and part fashion-design triumvirate, wants to make you like them, and to make you feel very insecure about liking them. On "99 Cents" they act as if they invented bohemian subversion, gabbing about inauthentic (whatever that means) Eurodisco (whatever that means) and about how they're interested in "selling out" (whatever that means). It's an exercise in look-at-me, and I'm not sure they'll ever be as famous as they'd like to be, but they do seem committed to themselves as a product. The accompanying disc of remixes offers a little more unironic pleasure. Oct. 19. COS.
CAETANO VELOSO The Brazilian singer-songwriter and man of letters returns for another New York visit; his most recent album was "A Foreign Sound," a collection of American songs sung in English, but he may be drawing from a larger swath of his 35-year repertory this time around. Oct. 19-20. Beacon Theater, Broadway at 74th Street, (212) 496-7070.
ROD STEWART His "Great American Songbook" ballads-and-standards albums are Mr. Stewart's last laugh â?? but the more times you say it, the more volumes that appear. The latest is Volume 3. Oct. 19. J.
NEVILLE BROTHERS The band's first album in five years, "Walkin' in the Shadow of Life" reconciles funk past and future; the first single is the Temptations' "Ball of Confusion," and the political overtones are there on purpose. Oct. 19. Back Porch/EMI.
`STAND UP FOR JAZZ: BILL COSBY WITH THE LINCOLN CENTER JAZZ ORCHESTRA' This kicks off the opening festival for Jazz at Lincoln Center's new Columbus Circle complex. But let's hope Mr. Cosby does his thing and the airtight orchestra does its thing, and they don't collaborate too much; it would be miles better than the semi-serious experiments in conducting and genial hoedown in which he's taken part. Oct. 21. Rose Theater.
CASSANDRA WILSON The most flexible and transformative jazz singer of her generation brings her live show to the new jazz complex. Oct. 22. Rose Theater.
`THREE SHADES OF BLUES: ROOTS, COUNTRY, SOUL' In three concerts, Jazz at Lincoln Center demonstrates the intersections of jazz with African music, blues, country, gospel and R & B. It's not the first time this kind of thing has been done, but some highly charismatic musicians will be on hand: Taj Mahal and Corey Harris for blues; Randy Weston and Mamadou Diabate for African music; Ricky Skaggs for country and Marie Knight and the Holmes Brothers for gospel. Oct. 25-27, Rose Theater.
BEANIE SIGEL As he explained on his recent mixtape, "Public Enemy No. 1," he's going to jail soon, having pleaded guilty to federal drug and weapons-possession charges. So unlike many other hip-hop albums with sliding release schedules, his next album, "The B-Coming," may have to be released without delay. Oct. 26. Roc-A-Fella.
NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS Full of dark and literary love songs â?? allusions to Greek poetry, the Bible and Philip Larkin abound â?? Mr. Cave's new album is a two-CD set, with a title for each disc: "Abattoir Blues" and "The Lyre of Orpheus." Oct. 26. Anti-.
MARS VOLTA Emerging from the short-lived but exciting band At the Drive-In, Mars Volta has a stunning drummer and a reputation for great live shows, yet success still eludes it. "Frances the Mute" is the group's second album. Oct. 26. Strummer/Universal.
`BRASIL LIVRE!' Hermeto Pascoal, the brilliant, blind, eccentric multi-instrumentalist and composer from Brazil, hardly ever performs in the United States; since he's become a hero to greater and greater numbers of jazz musicians, it was wise of Jazz at Lincoln Center to make a visit from him possible. Oct. 29-30. The Allen Room at Frederick P. Rose Hall.
GWEN STEFANI The first solo album from No Doubt's frontwoman is rumored to have the usual megamix of producers and songwriters: Andre 3000, Linda Perry, Missy Elliott, Dr. Dre. October or late fall. Interscope.
BECK Beck has gone back to working with the Dust Brothers, the team that produced "Odelay," the album that made him a star; instead of introspection, he's promising loud guitars again on his next album. October or later. Interscope.
November
`JAZZ IN MOTION' A concert of new and old works combining jazz and dance, part of Jazz at Lincoln Center's goal of stretching across disciplines. The premieres are "Welcome," with music by Wynton Marsalis and choreography by Peter Martins; "Gauntlet," with music by Joe Chambers and choreography by Elizabeth Streb; and other new works by Mr. Marsalis, to which Savion Glover dances. Nov. 3-5. Rose Theater.
ELTON JOHN Mr. John is still engaged in his valiant project to get back to the songwriting glories of his past. He recorded "Peachtree Road" in Atlanta, which he has adopted as his second home. Nov. 9. Universal.
JA RULE He's never recovered from the power struggle with 50 Cent â?? it was one public rivalry that didn't end as a win-win situation. "R.U.L.E.," with apparently less thug posturing and more basic hip-hop, is his next album. Nov. 9. The INC.
EMINEM It's been two whole years, an eternity in hip-hop, since we heard from Eminem proper, rather than through his semi-fictionalized autobiographical movie ("8 Mile"), his crew (D12) or the gossip columns. "Encore" will be his fourth album. Nov. 16. Interscope. A related article is on Page 67.
ASHANTI The R & B diva most likely to unseat Beyoncé from the top seat returns for her second album. Nov. 16. The Inc.
DESTINY'S CHILD Nobody could believe it when the trio initially caught fire; nobody could believe that a radio hit machine's second album, the traditional stinker, could be so hot; nobody could believe it when they broke up; nobody could believe it when Beyoncé's first solo album got ho-hum reviews (it was good!); and now it's hard to believe that Beyoncé would return to the group that she seemed to outgrow so naturally, but here comes another album from the radio-storming R & B trio, as yet untitled. Nov. 16. Columbia.
CHINGY The St. Louis rapper follows his first album â?? it had the hit "Right Thurr" â?? with "Power Ballin'." Capitol. Nov. 16.
U2 A band that hasn't gone cold on MTV or the radio in 20 years, doing what it does best: loud, anthemic guitar-rock. The first single, "Vertigo," will be released to radio in late September; the new album is still untitled. Nov. 23. Interscope. A related article is on Page 67.
LUDACRIS Unlike Don Rickles, the funniest man in hip-hop does perform blue material. It will be served in heaping spoonfuls on "The Red Light District." Def Jam South. Nov. 23.
December
ANDY BEY Mr. Bey possesses a skyscraper voice: bass-baritone lows, accurate falsetto highs. He is ferociously talented, and his comeback over the last decade has been one more welcome development in jazz. He plays to a quiet crowd in an intimate space â?? the best way to see him â?? at the Thalia Theater at Symphony Space, Dec. 3-4.
NAS On "Streets Disciple," his forthcoming double CD, Nas comes down from his above-it-all persona and gets back to street life; "Thief's Theme," the album's first single, with a sample from Iron Butterfly's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida," is a promising start. December. Columbia.
JOE BUDDEN His single "Pump It Up" was a strong club hit last year, but his album didn't do so well; it remains to be seen whether he can redefine himself on his next album. Dec. 7. Def Jam.
SYSTEM OF A DOWN Still unfinished and unheard at press time, the Southern California metal band's next album, produced by Rick Rubin, could be its most political yet: the Armenian-American trio have been Bush haters since they got together. But since its release date was moved from the day of the election until later in the year, the album might contain more nuance and less straight message. Dec. 7. American Recordings.
PIXIES The biggest blow in recent memory to New York's sense of itself as an important rock town: the reunited Pixies, touring for the first time since 1993, have seemingly played everywhere but here. Dec. 11-16. Hammerstein Ballroom, 311 West 34th Street. (Frank Black, the group's singer and main songwriter, will release a double album, "Frank Black Francis," on the SpinART label on Oct. 12, featuring, on one disc, pre-Pixies demo recordings and, on the other, rerecordings of Pixies songs.)
JUDAS PRIEST Reuniting with its original singer, Rob Halford, after 12 years, Priest has made an as-yet-untitled new album, intimating to the press that it's very much like an old Priest album. Which means piercing falsetto vibrato over flashy riffs â?? an old, venerable formula. Dec. 28. Columbia.
DON BYRON AND THE SYMPHONY SPACE ADVENTURERS ORCHESTRA The fifth-anniversary concert of what has become Symphony Space's answer to the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra: a repertory band coming from the jazz world that covers Stravinsky, Raymond Scott, Earth, Wind and Fire, Herb Alpert and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Led by the clarinetist Don Byron, the orchestra celebrates itself by playing songs from its short history of performances. Jan. 8-9. Symphony Space.
BUCK 65 A white Nova Scotia b-boy, Buck 65 found his way to a country-hip-hop sound â?? rural-imagery vocals spoken in a Tom Waits growl. "This Right Here Is Buck 65," made with live instruments including a prominent pedal steel guitar, is cafe-culture Bubba Sparxxx. Jan. 25. V2.
JESSI ALEXANDER One of a new crop of young female singer-songwriters in country music who aren't satisfied with low-fidelity indie obscurity, Ms. Alexander scales down Nashville excess just enough but not too much on "Honeysuckle Sweet," her promising first album. Jan. 25. Columbia.
LINCOLN CENTER AFRO-LATIN JAZZ ORCHESTRA In its third year as a working band operating under the aegis of Jazz at Lincoln Center, this ensemble has been a thorough aesthetic success, commissioning new works and honing a group of champion players. This concert is built around the sonero vocal tradition. The singers include Graciela, from the old Machito band; the young Chilean jazz vocalist Claudia Acuña; and the formidable salsa singer Herman Olivera. Jan. 28-29. Rose Theater.
