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Onstage at Jazz Standard in New York, recent Juilliard graduate Jonathan Batiste is up first. The pianist leads off for John Ellis & Double-Wide with music from the new CD Dance Like There's No Tomorrow, this week on JazzSet.

Music critic Ken Tucker reviews soul singer Al Green's new album, Lay It Down.

Led by an acoustic guitar and a grand piano, Death Cab for Cutie plays a stripped-down session at The Current. Drawing from a decade's worth of material, the band pulls out an old favorite and plays two songs from its new album, Narrow Stairs.

While Nick Jaina's previous release, The 7 Stations was a jangly folk-pop record, his new album, Wool is a more foreboding collection of acoustic songs that seem to drift in on the ether. They crackle and buzz with haunting undertones made of bowed cymbals and resonating bells. It's a beautiful mix Jaina says is best listened to while drifting off to sleep. "Turn on some white noise, like a humidifier. Don't feel bad if you fall asleep before it's over."

His new album sold more than a million copies in its first week in stores. But is Weezy F. Baby as good as he claims? Critics Sasha Frere-Jones and Jake Paine debate the New Orleans rapper's stature on WNYC's Soundcheck.

When driving long distances, the crushing exhaustion and faceless landscapes can fade from memory in a nanosecond when accompanied by the perfect piece of adrenaline-infused music. These five tracks serve that purpose beautifully, so be sure to put them on for those moments when the landmarks are starting to whiz by in a joyously indistinct blur.

The spare, haunting melodies of composer and pianist Erik Satie have inspired musicians, from Claude Debussy to guitarists Jonathan Stone and Adrian Bond, who perform his music in NPR's studio.

Saxophonist John Ellis and his group Double-Wide dance to a New Orleans beat. Hear a prime cut from the band's set at the Jazz Standard, "Dance Like There's No Tomorrow," recorded JazzSet.

Fireworks, folk songs and marching bands are just a few of the disparate elements that Charles Ives dropped into his evocative — and explosive — musical portrait of the national holiday. The festivities end as the town hall goes up in flames.

Music critic Josh duLac looks at some of this week's new releases, including albums from Lil Wayne, My Morning Jacket and Solomon Burke.