The Late Set

Latest Episodes:

Malou Oheix Wins the Hancock Prize Oct 27, 2026

Show notes

Who is our next breakout jazz singer? Chances are, they were in Paris this month for the Herbie Hancock International Jazz Vocals Competition. Nate was there, too, and now he brings us a field report — including a backstage interview with Malou Oheix, the 27-year-old French vocalist who won first prize, and insights from a few of the distinguished judges.

It’s also a moment to consider the nature of the competition, what it reflects about the art form, and what it can really do for an artist building an emerging career.

Chapters

00:00 — The Late Set wins a Signal Award
01:20 — Nate Chinen in Paris for the Herbie Hancock Vocal Competition
05:29 — Kate Quartum on camaraderie among jazz singers
08:00 — Meet the finalists: Georgia Heers, Luciane Daniels & Malou Hoex
11:47 — What makes a great jazz vocalist?
14:07 — From semifinals to finals: the pressure shifts
17:34 — Malou Hoex’s winning performance
24:52 — Gretchen Parlato on seeing herself in Malou
29:48 — Do jazz vocal competitions still make a difference?
33:17 — Meeting competition winner Malou Hoex
35:51 — “This I Dig”: Tyreek McDole’s Chroma
38:20 — “This I Dig”: Josh’s 25-year-old Irish whiskey
40:30 — Nate’s Paris encounter with Céline Dion
41:31 — Credits & sign-off

Want to support The Late Set? Become a WRTI member: wrti.org/donate

Subscribe to our YouTube: youtube.com/@WRTImusic

Write us an email: editor@wrti.org

Guest Drop: Andrew Cyrille on A Noise From the Deep Oct 13, 2026

Show notes

Some conversations are worth revisiting and sharing. In this special guest drop, we hand the mic to a friend of the show: trumpeter and composer Dave Douglas, who has appeared on The Late Set and whose Greenleaf Music podcast, A Noise From the Deep, is one we never miss. Here, Douglas sits down with master drummer Andrew Cyrille to discuss Lebroba, Cyrille’s ECM album with Wadada Leo Smith and Bill Frisell.

Cyrille also reflects on his Brooklyn beginnings, his first recording date with Coleman Hawkins, and his 11 years in the Cecil Taylor Unit. We’re especially excited to share this conversation at a time when Cyrille has two fine new albums: Trio Imagination and the forthcoming Drum Stories.

There’s still time to vote for The Late Set in this year’s Signal Awards! Cast your vote in two categories:

Arts & Culture: Vote for us here

Interview or Talk Show: And here

Listen to A Noise From the Deep: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts

Chapters

00:00 — Welcome: Josh Jackson & Nate Chinen
01:15 — Andrew Cyrille's big year & “Freeway” from Drum Stories
06:20 — Dave Douglas and Andrew Cyrille on A Noise From the Deep
10:00 — “Pretty Beauty” & recording Lebroba
18:30 — Learning by ear & a first date with Coleman Hawkins
24:15 — Coming up in Brooklyn: Louis Hayes, Max Roach & Philly Joe Jones
30:45 — Cyrille's Haitian roots
35:45 — “Lebroba”: Leland, Brooklyn & Baltimore
44:20 — What makes good music
52:40 — 11 years with Cecil Taylor
1:07:40 — Time, rhythm & “TGD”
1:13:00 — “Time to Dig”

Want to support The Late Set? Become a WRTI member: wrti.org/donate

Subscribe to our YouTube: youtube.com/@WRTImusic

Write us an email: editor@wrti.org

Music of the Ancestors, with Kenny Garrett Oct 09, 2026

Show notes

A bonus drop celebrating our two Signal Awards nominations! Vote for The Late Set in two categories:

Arts & Culture: Vote for us here

Interview or Talk Show: And here

Sound and spirit are inseparable in the music of Kenny Garrett. A saxophonist who served a series of heavyweight apprenticeships, most notably with Miles Davis, Garrett now stands as a jazz elder himself — one who continues his search for knowledge.

Several years ago, around the time of his album Sounds from the Ancestors, Garrett performed on the campus of Temple University. He sat down with Josh Jackson for a conversation about musical lineage, mentorship, and the lessons that keep the music moving forward. We’re thrilled to bring you that conversation as a bonus episode.

Watch the full interview: Kenny Garrett at Temple University

Chapters

00:00 — We're Signal Awards finalists
01:35 — Bonus episode: Kenny Garrett at Temple
05:10 — Coltrane's Philadelphia & playing soprano saxophone
07:45 — Roy Hargrove & Sounds from the Ancestors
10:10 — Feeling the ancestors on the bandstand
15:05 — Lessons from Miles Davis
17:35 — Mentors, monuments & honoring elders
25:00 — The pandemic: how to stop the train
27:40 — Passing it on beyond the academy
35:40 — What does it mean to live with music?
37:20 — “This I Dig”
42:20 — Credits

Want to support The Late Set? Become a WRTI member: wrti.org/donate

Subscribe to our YouTube: youtube.com/@WRTImusic

Write us an email: editor@wrti.org

Encounter, Not Discovery, with Nduduzo Makhathini Sep 29, 2026

Show notes

The Myth We Chose, the entrancing new album by South African pianist Nduduzo Makhathini, foregrounds hope and healing, and a conviction in the redemptive power of connection. It’s a song-forward statement for Makhathini, who is also a composer, vocalist, philosopher, and ambassador for the Global South.

This summer, he brought his trio to Solar Myth ahead of an appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival. On the first of two nights, he joined Josh Jackson for an onstage conversation about ritual, responsibility, and why he prefers the term “encounter” to “discovery” when describing a person’s formative contact with improvised music.

Chapters

00:00 — Intro: South African jazz
05:00 — Zulu language, myth & musicality
11:30 — Music education, colonialism & Indigenous knowledge
15:30 — Growing up during apartheid
21:00 — Encountering John Coltrane & the roots of jazz
23:30 — The identity and sound of South African jazz
28:45 — Collective memory & the African diaspora
35:15 — Myth, ancestral memory & sonic creation
38:15 — Ndu cosmology, time & musical continuity
41:00 — Artificial intelligence, knowledge & human experience
45:15 — Nate and Josh on music, healing & ancestral knowledge
49:30 — “This I Dig”
53:15 — South African music, cultural boycotts & current debates
56:15 — Closing credits

Want to support The Late Set? Become a WRTI member: wrti.org/donate

Subscribe to our YouTube: youtube.com/@WRTImusic

Write us an email: editor@wrti.org

Coltrane 100, with Steve Rowland Sep 15, 2026

Show notes

John Coltrane’s centennial has brought a flurry of tributes and testimonials, along with archival discoveries. At WRTI, we’re gearing up for “A Love Park Supreme,” a weeklong celebration in the city that Coltrane called home. And here at The Late Set, we’re doing what we do best: digging into an enlightened conversation.

Our guest is Peabody Award-winning oral historian and producer Steve Rowland, creator of the five-hour audio documentary Tell Me How Long Trane's Been Gone, which is rebroadcasting on WRTI the week of Sept. 21, one hour at a time. Rowland, an alumnus of Temple University and WRTI, has incisive things to say about Coltrane’s spiritual quest and creative legacy, and how we can best remember him today.

Chapters

00:00 — Intro: Coltrane 100 Philly
06:30 — Steve Rowland joins the show
10:30 — Philadelphia roots & building the documentary
13:00 — Early life, faith & the August Bloom tape
24:30 — Bebop, addiction & the road to A Love Supreme
27:30 — A Love Supreme: Psalm, poetry & the saxophone-as-voice
34:00 — Alabama, civil rights & the Black Arts Movement
46:00 — Material world, spirit world & art as the bridge
49:30 — The Coltrane houses & life with Alice
1:02:00 — Legacy & takeaways

The Late Set is a production of WRTI and made possible by WRTI members.

wrti.org

Subscribe to our YouTube: youtube.com/@WRTImusic

Write us an email: editor@wrti.org

A Voice for Jazz, with Rhonda Hamilton Sep 01, 2026

Show notes

Jazz radio has never had a better friend than Rhonda Hamilton. During a broadcasting career spanning nearly 50 years, she’s brought the music to a worldwide audience with her trademark warmth, integrity and composure.

This year she received a fitting honor: the A.B. Spellman NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship for Jazz Advocacy, which she’ll formally receive on Sept. 15 during a gala concert at Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles. She’ll be in fine company there: the 2026 class of honorees also includes drummer and percussionist Airto Moreira; keyboardist, vocalist and producer Patrice Rushen; and singer, songwriter and bandleader Carmen Lundy.

Rhonda is now on the air at KKJZ-FM in Southern California, but during her longtime tenure at Newark Public Radio, she worked with Josh Jackson, Nate Chinen and our producer, Alex Ariff. We were all delighted to reconnect with her in a conversation brimming with insights from one of our very best.

Chapters

00:00 — Coltrane 100 Philly kickoff
02:00 — NEA Jazz Masters & this year's honorees
10:00 — Interview with Rhonda Hamilton
49:00 — Key records & jazz recommendations
55:30 — Dizzy Gillespie dinner story
1:02:30 — “This I Dig”

Learn more about WRTI’s John Coltrane @100 celebration: wrti.org

Want to support The Late Set? Become a WRTI member: wrti.org/donate

Subscribe to our YouTube: youtube.com/@WRTImusic

Write us an email: editor@wrti.org

Sabotage the Plan, with SML Aug 18, 2026

Show notes

When SML dropped its 2024 debut, the group’s admixture of loopy groove, staticky texture and shifting timbre came on like a transmission from the outer reaches. Behind the music was a method: rangy collective improv whittled down to size, based on a trove of live tape.

SML has released two more albums since, the latest of which, Spontaneous Music Live, consists of two unedited long performances rooted in real-time interplay. For this episode, three of SML’s five members — bassist Anna Butterss, saxophonist Josh Johnson and synthesist Jeremiah Chiu — joined Julian Booker, WRTI’s Associate Program Director for Jazz, to talk about their commitment to shared discovery. (The others are guitarist Gregory Uhlmann and percussionist Booker Stardrum.)

Listen in to learn more about one of our moment’s most beguiling bands.

Chapters

00:00 — Intro & welcome
01:51 — SML at Big Ears
05:49 — SML’s process: turning live tape into records
10:55 — The band, lineup & modular synths
13:01 — Interview with SML
50:15 — Back with Nate & Julian: is this jazz?
55:13 — “This I Dig”

Want to support The Late Set? Become a WRTI member: wrti.org/donate

Subscribe to our YouTube: youtube.com/@WRTImusic

Write us an email: editor@wrti.org

Wellspring, with DoYeon Kim Aug 04, 2026

Show notes

The gayageum is a plucked Korean zither with a history that stretches to the sixth century. Its first and finest exponent in avant-garde jazz is DoYeon Kim, whose spellbinding debut, Wellspring, reveals a fiercely original voice (in more than one sense). Before a recent show presented by Ars Nova Workshop and the Doris Duke Foundation, Kim joined us to talk about tradition, translation, and the power of self-expression. She even graced us with a solo improvisation on her instrument, which has fast become a vital part of the experimental scene.

Chapters:

00:00 – Intro: South Korean jazz and the gayageum
02:15 – Meet DoYeon Kim and her groundbreaking approach
05:12 – Live from Solar Myth: Welcome and birthday surprise
06:25 – The success of Wellspring and finding a larger purpose
09:10 – Discovering the gayageum and falling in love with its sound
13:05 – Dance, movement, and Korean concepts of rhythm
16:25 – Growing up in Korea and discovering cultural identity in Canada
20:00 – Joe Morris and finding her artistic voice
23:45 – Beyond "exotic": Becoming DoYeon Kim, not just a gayageum player
27:15 – Finding her voice—literally—through improvisation
31:05 – Building Wellspring with Tyshawn Sorey, Matt Maneri & Henry Fraser
34:05 – The symbolism and history of the gayageum
36:45 – Exclusive live solo improvisation
38:35 – Post-interview reflections on Wellspring and the Solar Myth performance
41:15 – This I Dig: Josh's Provence wine recommendation
44:05 – This I Dig: Ben Goldberg's ambitious "8 by 8" album project
47:15 – Closing credits

Want to support The Late Set?
Become a WRTI member:
wrti.org/donate

Follow us on Instagram:
instagram.com/wrtimusic

Subscribe on YouTube:
youtube.com/@WRTImusic

Write us an email:
editor@wrti.org

ResoNation, with Steven Bernstein Jul 21, 2026

Show notes

Steven Bernstein is a known wildcard in the modern jazz game. He's a wily slide trumpeter, and the whip-smart bandleader behind both Millennial Territory Orchestra, a pugnacious little big band, and Sexmob, a go-anywhere four-piece band. So in some respects, Bernstein's latest is striking for its directness.

ResoNation Trio finds him strictly on valve trumpet and flugelhorn, with a lean-and-limber rhythm team of Scott Colley on bass and Nasheet Waits on drums. True to form, Bernstein added a further twist — inviting maverick producer Scotty Hard to reconstitute the trio's recordings for the companion album Ultra Resonance, a kaleidoscopic refraction evoking both dub and electronic collage.

Bernstein dropped by our studio before a recent show to talk about the jazz tradition, his drive for connection, and why this project had to happen now.

Watch the full conversation on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/n3IwFJe5AiE

Chapters:
00:00 – Intro: Josh & Nate catch up, remember Steven during the pandemic
03:42 – Introducing the new records: ResoNation Trio & Ultra Resonance
06:08 – Interview begins: welcoming Steven Bernstein
07:02 – Steven as "the ultimate band guy" — why it had to be Colley & Waits
08:30 – Bay Area roots: coming up around Andrew Hill, Rahsaan, the AACM
11:00 – "Spontaneous composition" and the making of ResoNation Trio
14:04 – Why now: readiness, aging, and finding his own voice
20:48 – Sequencing the album & introducing Ultra Resonance
22:33 – Dub roots: Garvey's Ghost, Scotty Hard's remix process
29:41 – Magical realism as the concept linking both albums
31:25 – Live performance: Steven plays flugelhorn ("Rotary") + the horn's history
38:55 – Learning from Levon Helm — melody, blues, and "spiritual jazz"
42:21 – Jazz education, rhythm, and drummers as the root of the music
50:20 – On legacy, influence, and Sex Mob's lasting impact
1:00:07 – Debrief + "This I Dig"

Want to support The Late Set? Become a WRTI member: wrti.org/donate

Subscribe to our YouTube: youtube.com/@WRTImusic

The Power of Presence, with Kalia Vandever Jul 07, 2026

Show notes

Mana, the new album by Kalia Vandever, takes its name from a Native Hawaiian term for spiritual energy or sacred power. It’s an intentional gesture from an artist who has long possessed the instinct of a shape-shifter.

In addition to trombone, Vandever works with electronics and synthesizers on the album, as well as vocals — a first, inspired in part by their experiences with Haley Heynderickx, Japanese Breakfast and Harry Styles.

Before a mesmerizing solo performance at Solar Myth, Vandever joined Nate Chinen for a conversation about myth and mystique, collaboration and solitude, and what it means to open up in new ways as an improvising artist.