The Late Set

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

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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”

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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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”

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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

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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"

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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.

Chapters

• 00:00 — Intro: Entering the World of Mana
• 05:11 — Interview Begins: Hawaiian Ancestry, Spirituality & Inspiration
• 13:20 — Touring with Harry Styles and Finding a Performance Voice
• 20:21 — Singing, Songwriting & Emotional Honesty on Mana
• 29:07 — International Anthem, Genre and the Evolution of Kalia's Music
• 35:43 — Interview Wrap-Up
• 37:09 — “This I Dig”: Micah Thomas's Lucid & Emily Wilson's The Odyssey
• 42:20 — Producer's Picks: Henry Solomon, Louis Armstrong & Laurent Benedict
• 49:06 — Credits

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Emmet Cohen makes music for the people. That isn’t to say he panders or dumbs it down. Cohen is simply a pianist who puts connection at the center of his performance ethic, whether he’s burning down the bandstand, lighting up a livestream or laying it down in the studio.

He has also made a point of seeking out his jazz elders and welcoming younger fans into the fold, all with a spirit of upbeat discovery. There’s a reason DownBeat’s July cover story bears the headline “Emmet Cohen: Messenger of Joy.”

Cohen recently came through Philadelphia with his tour Miles and Coltrane at 100 and stopped by WRTI for a lively chat. Along with saxophonist Tivon Pennicott, he also performed the title suite from his new album, Universal Truth.

Watch the performance of the “Universal Truth” suite: https://youtu.be/3O-9LYjxj88

Watch our interview with Emmet Cohen: https://youtu.be/N-Cps3TDKvI

Chapters

• 00:00 — Intro
• 02:05 — Miles & Coltrane at 100
• 05:12 — The Rise of Emmet's Place
• 12:10 — Building a Worldwide Jazz Community
• 16:25 — Reaching New Audiences
• 22:08 — Emmet Cohen on AI
• 24:22 — Why Young People Are Finding Jazz
• 29:50 — The Meaning of Universal Truth
• 33:00 — Live Piano Performance: “Eternal Glimpse”
• 34:10 — Writing Music Inspired by Miles & Coltrane
• 37:40 — Legacy, Mentorship and What Lasts
• 40:35 — Becoming the “Vibe Provider”
• 42:42 — Josh & Nate React
• 44:44 — “This I Dig”
• 50:47 — Credits

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When Chris Speed formed Yeah No in the late 1990s, there was no lane for its hybrid style, which drew from both post-punk and post-bop, with shoegaze and Balkan klezmer folded into the mix. Speed, a multi-reedist, had intrepid partners in trumpeter Cuong Vu, bassist Skúli Sverrisson and drummer Jim Black — each a sonic visionary, and all committed to a shared band ideal.

Since then, the musicians have pursued other projects in far-flung locales. So it felt momentous this spring when Yeah No kicked off a reunion tour at Solar Myth under the auspices of Ars Nova Workshop, whose inaugural show the band played more than 25 years ago.

Before the performance, Speed and Black sat down for an onstage interview with Nate Chinen, whose history with the band stretches back to that era.

Chapters

• 00:00 — Intro
• 07:00 — Interview with Chris Speed and Jim Black
• 42:30 — “This I Dig”

Special thanks to Beau Gordon, Mark Christman and the folks at Ars Nova Workshop and Solar Myth.

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We’ve rarely seen a centennial celebration like the one that coalesced around Miles Davis: cover stories, deluxe reissues, luxury brand partnerships and tributes of every imaginable form.

Then again, we’ve rarely seen an artist like Miles — who once credibly claimed to have “changed music four or five times.”

His body of work remains a source of endless fascination. In this episode, Josh Jackson and Nate Chinen sit down to compare notes and highlights, including some of the less celebrated turns and pivots in a famously forward-thinking career.

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For more than 25 years, bassist Carlos Henriquez has been the beating heart of the rhythm section in the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, as well as other bands led by Wynton Marsalis. He’s done more than his share of swinging in those settings. But as a product of the Nuyorican community, Henriquez has also remained deeply rooted in clave — the pulse at the center of folkloric Afro-Latin music.

In this episode, he joins Josh Jackson to discuss Monk con Clave, his dynamite new album with the JALC Orchestra, featuring special guests including pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba and percussionist Pedrito Martínez.

Henriquez also reflects on his formative path through jazz education, and weighs in on a timely question of succession.

Chapters

• 00:00 — Intro
• 03:05 — Interview with Carlos Henriquez
• 40:36 — Carlos Henriquez performs “I Mean You” (solo bass) and discusses his bass inspirations
• 1:00:28 — “This I Dig”

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When we declare music a “universal language,” what space do we leave for regional dialects and local customs? How has jazz evolved from a uniquely American export into a music that truly knows no borders? These and other questions hang in the air as we prepare to celebrate International Jazz Day at a moment of roiling global tensions.

It feels like the right time to connect with Kresten Osgood — a Danish drummer, composer and commentator, and host of the podcast Dangerous Sounds. He joins Josh Jackson for a far-ranging conversation, sharing his perspective on the music and the mission.

Following the interview, Osgood performed a solo drum improvisation. Watch here: youtu.be/arjCn6U4QRU

Chapters

• 00:00 — Intro
• 04:30 — Interview with Kresten Osgood
• 43:22 — “This I Dig”

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Irreversible Entanglements can always be trusted to push revolutionary concerns to the fore. But the band puts just as much stock in community, as we’ll hear in this provocative and lively episode.

Four of the group’s five members — vocalist Camae Ayewa (aka Moor Mother), trumpeter Aquiles Navarro, saxophonist Keir Neuringer, and bassist Luke Stewart — joined Josh Jackson at The Fabric Workshop and Museum for a listening session and public discussion of Don Cherry’s 1972 album Organic Music Society, as a tie-in to the exhibition The Living Temple: The World of Moki Cherry, presented by Ars Nova Workshop.

The band also talked about Future Present Past, its knockout fifth release, and the imperative of speaking truth to power, now as ever.

The band also discusses Future Present Past, its knockout fifth release, along with the enduring imperative of speaking truth to power — now as ever.

Chapters

• 00:00 — Intro
• 04:30 — Interview with Irreversible Entanglements
• 46:47 — “This I Dig”

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Tomeka Reid finds authority in flexibility on the cello, taking full advantage of an instrument that can be earthy or ethereal, growly or sweetly serene. Her irresistible new album — dance! skip! hop! — finds her in all of these modes and more, at the helm of her long-running quartet.

During a recent visit to our studio, Reid spoke about how the album grew out of an impulse to dance. In a far-ranging conversation with Nate Chinen, she also reflects on her early cello inspirations, he impact of AACM mentors like Anthony Braxton, and her work as an educator and advocate.

Chapters

• 00:00 — Intro
• 02:35 — Interview with Tomeka Reid
• 40:15 — “This I Dig”

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In the hands of Béla Fleck, the banjo becomes a skeleton key — capable of unlocking almost any musical door. Among the most acclaimed artists of our era, Fleck has brought his fretboard finesse not only to bluegrass, but also to progressive fusion, chamber and orchestral works, African folk music and more.

This episode finds him in the banjo parlor at Vintage Instruments, a retail and repair shop just down Broad Street from the Kimmel Center. Fleck was in town with the Flecktones, his proudly uncategorizable flagship band, and the conversation turns to musical legacies, personal histories, and how his perspective has changed — and how it hasn’t — over the course of a nearly five-decade career.

Watch this interview: https://youtu.be/QQ4tlfSpl3Y

Special thanks to Vintage Instruments: https://vintage-instruments.com/

Chapters

• 00:00 — Intro
• 06:45 — Interview with Béla Fleck
• 59:00 — Outro + credits

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Every jazz musician strives to establish a voice. Some go further — creating a language all their own. Mark Turner is one of those artists: a tenor saxophonist with a vocabulary and syntax so personal that he’s recognizable within a single phrase.

Now 60, Turner stands as a modern master — an artist whose influence on the jazz tradition can hardly be overstated.

In this episode, we’re thrilled to talk with Turner about his new ECM quartet album, Patternmaster, along with some of the speculative fiction — and actual music — that inspired it.

We also touch on his creative habits, the shifting parameters of the jazz tradition, and the way he and his peers have left their mark (no pun intended) on the creative landscape.

Chapters

• 00:00 — Intro
• 06:57 — Interview with Mark Turner
• 40:05 — “This I Dig”

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Tonight at 8 p.m., WRTI will air the latest episode of The Late Set Radio Hour featuring harpist, composer and bandleader Brandee Younger.

To get you ready for the broadcast, we’re (re)sharing our original May 2025 podcast interview with Brandee, taped live before a sold-out Solar Myth show presented by Ars Nova Workshop.

The broadcast features music spanning her 2025 release Gadabout Season and her re-imagining of Dorothy Ashby’s work on Brand New Life. Younger reflects on using the studio as a creative tool and embracing the harp’s full expressive range — from glissandos to groove.

Host Nicole Sweeney guides us through Brandee’s profound connection to Alice Coltrane, including performing on Coltrane’s harp and collaborating with Ravi Coltrane.

The episode also spotlights fellow harpist Ashley Jackson, who speaks about the spiritual resonance of Younger’s music and how these works are entering the modern harp canon.

Listen Sunday at 8 p.m. on WRTI or stream the full episode online: https://www.wrti.org

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