The Late Set

Latest Episodes:

Forces of Nature with Jack DeJohnette Oct 29, 2024

“Dreams do come true.” That’s how Greg sums up this episode, as he and Nate talk with master drummer Jack DeJohnette about an incredible recording made in the spring of 1966. Featuring a ferocious quartet co-led by pianist McCoy Tyner and tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, it captures each of those giants at a turning point in his career. Blue Note Records will release this album, Forces of Nature: Live at Slugs’, on Nov. 22. (Nate contributed the main liner notes.) In our far-reaching conversation, Jack reflects on what makes this recording special; the dynamics between the musicians in the band, including bassist Henry Grimes; and the secret to keeping one’s composure in the midst of a musical storm.

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Nine Lives with Chris Coles and Sean Jones Oct 16, 2024

WRTI’s Josh Jackson subs in for Greg, talking with Nate about their rich experience at the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival. Their guests are saxophonist Chris Coles and trumpeter Sean Jones, who had just performed a powerful suite titled Nine Lives. Coles composed the suite in response to a 2015 church shooting in Charleston. This conversation touches on the power of grace, the call to forgiveness — and a quietly thriving jazz scene in Akron, Ohio.

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Catch Fire with Isaiah Collier Sep 24, 2024

Urgency is a currency for Isaiah Collier, an ambitious young saxophonist from the South Side of Chicago. We recently caught up with him at Solar Myth in Philly, where he played music from two new albums — The Almighty and The World is On Fire — that showcase his powerful working band, the Chosen Few. As much a dynamo in conversation as he is with his horn, Collier talked about stirring emotions, honoring elders, channeling energies, and his problem with the term “spiritual jazz.”

Also see:

NYT: Isaiah Collier Funnels a ‘Very Radical Time’ into a Vivid New Album

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Fall Preview with Nubya Garcia Aug 27, 2024

Feel that rumble underfoot? It might be the stampeding onrush of new music this fall. This episode, we’re throwing a spotlight on the most anticipated albums among them, by alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, vibraphonists Patricia Brennan and Simon Moullier, pianist Kris Davis and Joe Alterman, and violinist Jenny Scheinman. We’re also talking shop with tenor saxophonist Nubya Garcia, whose aptly named Odyssey is simply undeniable. Joining us from her home in London, she reflects on transatlantic contrasts, unhurried creative intentions, and the welcome challenge of enlarging her musical canvas to epic scale.

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Creative Dancer: esperanza spalding Jul 16, 2024

Sixteen years ago, when esperanza spalding made her breakout second album — before she’d performed at the White House, won Best New Artist at the Grammys, or served on the music faculty at Harvard — she made a point of opening with a song by Milton Nascimento. For spalding (who stylizes her name in lowercase), the iconic Brazilian troubadour exerts an influence as deep, intense and magical as that of the late Wayne Shorter, their mutual friend. So it makes sense that spalding describes their luminous new album, Milton + esperanza, as the realization of a dream. In this episode, she explains why it was also “surreal, challenging, scary, terrifying,” and how all the elements were made to harmonize. And we’ll hear Greg and Nate’s differing opinions on Native Dancer, the Shorter-Nascimento collaboration that celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, and looms as a clear precursor here.

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Rise and Shine: Julius Rodriguez Jun 18, 2024

What should the omnivorous young jazz mainstream sound like today? One beguiling answer can be found in the music of Julius Rodriguez, a brilliant multi-instrumentalist who just released Evergreen, his second album for Verve, which synthesizes elements of jazz, R&B, gospel, funk, even electro-pop. “I see it all as different extensions of me,” Rodriguez tells us in a lively conversation that touches on his divergent aims for a studio album and a live show; the essential qualities he shares with his creative cohort; and the way that his New York upbringing now converges with his Los Angeles lifestyle, musically. We’ll also hear excerpts of an exclusive performance captured by WRTI at Notsolatin in South Philadelphia, on Rodriguez’s first tour.

More to Explore:

WRTI: Live at from Notsolatin (YouTube Premiere on Thursday, June 27 at 11 am EDT)
NY Times: A Prodigy of Jazz Clubs Explores Other Stages
NPR: Julius Rodriguez, a young pianist fusing (all) the music from inside-out

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Remembering Ron Miles: Bill Frisell and Rudy Royston May 21, 2024

Ron Miles reached beyond style and into human feeling. A cornetist who nestled all kinds of complexities into his warm and welcoming music, he left us too soon — but also left a lot to remember him by. Old Main Chapel, a gorgeous trio album recorded a decade ago, is now a part of that legacy. So too are our guests this episode, guitarist Bill Frisell and drummer Rudy Royston, who both knew Miles for more than 30 years. During a recent tour stop in Philly, they remembered their friend for his generosity, his soulfulness, and his fierce commitment to beauty. Like his music, their reminiscence glows with wonder, still inhabiting the present tense.

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BONUS: Search for the New Landmark: honoring Lee Morgan May 03, 2024

Lee Morgan was many things: a brilliant trumpeter, a hard-bop messenger, a cultural hero, a cautionary tale. He was also a proud product of Philly, and in recent days and weeks we’ve seen the city truly herald him as its own. On April 30, International Jazz Day, a historical marker in Morgan’s honor was unveiled at the corner of 52nd and Chancellor Streets — former site of the Aqua Lounge, where he played his final hometown gig. We were there for the ceremony so we could bring you this report, including remarks from saxophonist Billy Harper, who played in Lee’s last band, and his nephew Raymond Darryl Cox, who came bearing the master’s flugelhorn.

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Breathe Open: Shabaka Apr 23, 2024

When Shabaka hung up his tenor saxophone in favor of bamboo flutes, the world reacted with a mix of admiration and puzzlement. Over the last decade, as Shabaka Hutchings, he had steadily built a reputation for rampaging fervor on tenor, fueling the fires of a new-breed London jazz scene. His remarkable new album, Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace, drifts in another direction — more contemplative and interior, suffused with flickering calm. During this year’s Winter Jazz Fest, we caught up with Shabaka at Public Records in Brooklyn, and had a far-reaching conversation about this new direction, his motivations, and the challenge of making such a decisive pivot. Naturally we also talked about André 3000, another high-profile flute obsessive, and an eager new collaborator. You’ll also hear Greg and Nate reflect on this soothing new turn in the music often branded “spiritual jazz,” and what it says about our present moment.

Breathe In:

New Music Friday for April 12, from NPR Music
Album review in Pitchfork, by Hank Shteamer
NY Times profile, by Hugh Morris

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The Seeker: Melissa Aldana Mar 19, 2024

Melissa Aldana has been a prominent force in motion since she took first prize in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition just over a decade ago. What she has accomplished since then is a matter of public record, but also the result of much private searching — as an improviser, a composer, a bandleader and a human being. Her captivating new album, Echoes of the Inner Prophet, reflects a noticeable maturity on all fronts, which she describes as an ongoing process. In this revealing conversation, Melissa touches on her path toward a personal sound, which involved “a very deep crisis of identity.” She also shares insights about the gift of a working band, the complex play of musical influence, and the power of sound to change perception.

More to Explore:

Listen here to Echoes of the Inner Prophet
NY Times: Melissa Aldana Makes a Focused Statement in Back Home
NPR: Melissa Aldana Wins Thelonious Monk Competition For Saxophonists

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Deep River: Gary Bartz Feb 20, 2024

Here at The Late Set, we always turn toward the wisdom of elders. So we couldn’t be more excited about our guest this episode: alto saxophonist, composer-bandleader and educator Gary Bartz. We sat down with him in Brooklyn during the recent Winter Jazzfest, and had a fantastic conversation that spans his apprenticeship years (with everyone from Max to Mingus to Miles), his journeyman period (notably at the helm of Ntu Troop), and his master eminence (which predates his welcome induction as a 2024 NEA Jazz Master). The man who gave us “Music is My Sanctuary” is still out along the front line, with insights to share.

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I Hear a Rhapsody: Marcus Roberts [BONUS] Feb 12, 2024

George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue had its premiere precisely 100 years ago, and has enjoyed a productive and impactful life ever since. But as Greg puts it in this bonus episode: “Whose Rhapsody is it?” A symphonic work openly indebted to Black American musical traditions has often been more celebrated than its source material — one reason to look to an interpreter like pianist Marcus Roberts, our guest this episode. He’s been performing Gershwin’s piece for decades, and before a recent series of blockbuster concerts with The Philadelphia Orchestra, he sat down with Nate in our studio to share his gemlike insights.

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Deeds, Not Words: Nasheet Waits Jan 23, 2024

Max Roach — the indomitable drummer, activist, bandleader and composer — was born 100 years ago this month, on Jan. 10, 1924. His centenary is the perfect opportunity to reconsider how his genius changed the game, and not just in rhythmic terms. So in this episode, we talk about Max as an innovator and a liberator, a connector and a catalyst. We also consider his sterling example as an elder, with deep insights from Nasheet Waits — one of Max’s leading inheritors on drums, someone he mentored from an early age. Nasheet has incredible stories to tell, and he shares them here.

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Our Year in the Rearview Dec 20, 2023

What caught our ear in 2023? Who set the agenda, or just leveled up their game? For our final episode of this year, we’re looking back, taking stock, and talking about the albums we can’t let go. One of them was Rivers in Our Veins, by drummer and composer Allison Miller, who joins us here for some illuminating conversation. This is a supersize edition of The Late Set, but we think you’ll appreciate how much we packed in.

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Comfort and Joy: Samara Joy and Gregory Porter Nov 22, 2023

Hark! The holidays are upon us, and so are the holiday tunes. Who better to join us than a pair of sublime vocalists with soulful new Christmas albums, Samara Joy and Gregory Porter? Together they reflect on the season’s warm and wonderful traditions, as well as a sense of mission behind their glad tidings and good cheer. Meanwhile, Greg and Nate are still arguing over the basic merits of holiday jazz, while taking stock of this year’s new releases.

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