Boy bands Son by Four and *NSync will duet Sept. 13 at the Latin Grammy Awards, according to Billboard. *NSync, whose album No Strings Attached has sold more than 9 million copies, will reportedly do some singing in English when they join the salsa/R&B quartet Son by Four, who top the magazine's Latin 50 albums and Hot Latin Tracks charts. Billboard also reports that Christina Aguilera, Shakira and Ricky Martin will perform on the bilingual telecast, and Carlos Santana will pair with Mexican rockeros Maná. In addition, co-host Jennifer Lopez will sing with Marc Anthony on their Grammy-nominated duet, "No Me Ames" (RealAudio excerpt), and Celia Cruz will appear as part of a tribute to the late Tito Puente. ...

Tom Tom Club, the band founded in 1981 by Talking Heads rhythm section Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth, will release The Good the Bad and the Funky, their first album in eight years, on Sept. 12. The record will include a cover of "Soul Fire" by Jamaican wild man Lee Perry, as well as Donna Summer's proto-disco classic "Love to Love You Baby." Toots Hibbert of Toots and the Maytals joins in on the ska tune "Dangerous Dub." ...

Acclaimed young Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, fiddler Ashley MacIsaac did little to counter his erratic reputation when he took part in an Internet chat Wednesday (Aug. 23). At one point MacIsaac, who lost bookings following a concert where he screamed profanities and racial slurs at a Canadian audience for 20 minutes, typed, "What do people think of ni--ers?" as an alleged test of censoring software. In the past, MacIsaac has lifted his kilt on "Late Night With Conan O'Brien," punched a former manager's wife and revealed a crack cocaine habit. He filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. According to the online chat, MacIsaac plans to release a Christmas album this fall. ...

Pop superstar Christina Aguilera will release her debut Spanish-language album, Mi Reflejo (My Reflection), on Sept. 12. The album will feature several remakes of Aguilera's English-language hits, including the currently released singles "Por Siempre Tú" (a version of "I Turn to You") and "Ven Conmigo" (Come On Over), as well as a duet with hot young Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi on "Si No Te Hubiera Conocido" (If I Hadn't Known You) and a version of the classic bolero "Contigo en la Distancia" (With You in the Distance). Veteran Latin producer Rudy Perez (Luis Miguel, Jaci Velásquez) offered both musical and linguistic assistance to Aguilera, whose father is from Ecuador but who does not speak Spanish. ...

French percussion group Les Tambours du Bronx, who release Silence (Naive) on Sept. 12, undertake a 37-date U.S. tour in October and November. The 20-person band, who use pickax handles on oil drums as percussion instruments, begin their tour Oct. 6 in Chico, Calif., and conclude it Nov. 22 in Sarasota, Fla. ...

Legendary music executive Clive Davis, who was forced from his position as president and chief executive officer of Arista Records earlier this year, has founded a new record label with Arista's parent company, BMG Entertainment. The new venture, to be known as J Records, will be an "instant major label," according to a statement released Thursday (Aug. 24) by BMG. Davis and BMG have not yet announced which artists will be part of J Records' roster. Davis, who signed such artists as Janis Joplin, Bruce Springsteen and Patti Smith during his nearly 40-year career, most recently spearheaded Santana's comeback with the blockbuster album Supernatural. ...

Popular Mexican singer and scandal queen Gloria Trevi, jailed in Brazil since January and awaiting extradition on charges of kidnapping and corruption of minors, is the subject of a "homemade" video that has become the most-rented tape in her hometown of Monterrey, Mexico, according to that city's La Afición newspaper. Titled "Gloria: Victima de la Fama" (Gloria: Victim of Fame), the docudrama concludes with the Trevi character in a prison cell blaming her parents for the "nightmare" she has endured along with ex-manager and lover Sergio Andrade, who faces similar charges as well as accusations of rape. ...

Jamaican dancehall reggae star Beenie Man will perform Sept. 9 at a Harlem block party for BET (Black Entertainment Television). The event celebrates the network's move from Washington, D.C., to New York. Beenie Man, nominated twice for Grammy Awards, has just completed a 36-date North American tour in support of his latest release, Art & Life. ...

Sixteen major Latin-music stars, led by Argentinean singer Mercedes Sosa, will stage a concert to benefit UNICEF on Oct. 7 in Panama City. The evening's lineup includes Panamanian salsa star Rubén Blades, Cuban balladeer Francisco Céspedes and Latin-pop idol Marc Anthony. MTV will broadcast the show. (Sonicnet.com's parent company, Viacom, also owns MTV.) ... Zulu a cappella group Ladysmith Black Mambazo's work will be distilled into a 17-track compilation due Oct. 7 by Warner/Rhino. Paul Simon wrote the liner notes for the best-of, which will include "Homeless," from Graceland. ...

Anglo-Indian percussionist Talvin Singh, who won Britain's prestigious Mercury Prize last year, is among the contributors to a compilation consisting of work by this year's nominees for the prize. Mercury 2000 also includes tracks by Asian Underground guitarist Nitin Sawnhey, former Verve singer Richard Ashcroft and electronic dance mavericks Leftfield. This year's award ceremony will be televised Sept. 12. ...

MPB (Brazilian popular music) star Marisa Monte, who has just released Memories, Chronicles and Declarations of Love — Proofs, Texts and Denials, begins a seven-date U.S. tour Sept. 22 in Los Angeles at UCLA's Royce Hall. The tour ends Oct. 4 at Gusman Hall in Miami. ... Beginning Sunday (Aug. 22), the stretch of 110th Street between First and Fifth avenues in Manhattan will be known as Tito Puente Way. A block party will be held Sunday to pay tribute to the late Puerto Rican musician. ...

Brazil's Jobim-Morelenbaum Quartet, who include members of the family of the late bossa nova great Antonio Carlos Jobim as well as cellist Caetano Veloso and musical director Jacques Morelenbaum, will bring their chamber bossa nova sound to North America for a 10-date tour. They open with two shows Sept. 22 and 23 at Joe's Pub in New York, and finish with a pair of gigs Oct. 6 and 7 at One World Theater in Austin, Texas.

— sonicnet.com staff report