The Late Set

WRTI
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The Late Set

Jazz is a conversation — and that’s what The Late Set is all about. Join broadcaster Greg Bryant and critic Nate Chinen each month for perceptive variations on a theme, and their related interview with a special guest. Just like a hang at the end of the gig, in the back of the club, it’s direct, unfiltered and illuminating, revealing the music and its culture in a deeper light.

  1. Thanksgiving Mailbag Special

    1 DAY AGO

    Thanksgiving Mailbag Special

    As Thanksgiving rolls around, it’s a good time to ask: what are we grateful for? Here at The Late Set, our first answer is you, our listener. So we decided to spend this holiday episode answering your questions. In the process, you’ll hear Greg and Nate shout out scenes both near and far, admit to a few blind spots, and compare pet peeves. It’s a high-spirited Q&A session that gets right to the heart of the matter, which is genuine conversation around the music and its message. For that, we’ll always be thankful. Support WRTI: https://bit.ly/2yAkaJs See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    51 min
  2. Adjust Brightness with Bilal

    12 NOV

    Adjust Brightness with Bilal

    “I’m a jazz musician first, I feel,” says Bilal. Maybe this comes as news to the many admirers who know him as an ethereal singer with a shape-shifting R&B profile, or as one of the original catalysts for neo-soul. On a compelling new album, Adjust Brightness — his first studio release in almost a decade — Bilal explores a galactic sweep of sound, making genre distinctions feel all the more irrelevant to any conversation. But we had plenty to talk about during a spirited interview backstage at World Cafe Live, before Bilal’s homecoming album-release show. “I grew up with my heroes being Miles Davis, or Jimi Hendrix, or Sun Ra,” he attests, aligning himself with a legacy of Afrofuturist improvisers. We put him there too, and this episode explains why. Support WRTI: https://bit.ly/2yAkaJs See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    53 min
  3. Forces of Nature with Jack DeJohnette

    29 OCT

    Forces of Nature with Jack DeJohnette

    “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. Support WRTI: https://bit.ly/2yAkaJs See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    45 min
  4. Nine Lives with Chris Coles and Sean Jones

    16 OCT

    Nine Lives with Chris Coles and Sean Jones

    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. Support WRTI: https://bit.ly/2yAkaJs See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    55 min
  5. Catch Fire with Isaiah Collier

    24 SEPT

    Catch Fire with Isaiah Collier

    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 Support WRTI: https://bit.ly/2yAkaJs See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    1h 2m
  6. Fall Preview with Nubya Garcia

    27 AUG

    Fall Preview with Nubya Garcia

    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. Support WRTI: https://bit.ly/2yAkaJs See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    1 hr
  7. Creative Dancer: esperanza spalding

    16 JUL

    Creative Dancer: esperanza spalding

    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. More to Explore: WRTI: On the cusp of a major album drop, esperanza spalding rests in motion NPR: 'What Do You Need A Song For?': Esperanza Spalding's Search For The Answer NPR Music: Esperanza Spalding Is The 21st Century's Jazz Genius   Support WRTI: https://bit.ly/2yAkaJs See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    1h 17m
  8. Rise and Shine: Julius Rodriguez

    18 JUN

    Rise and Shine: Julius Rodriguez

    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 Support WRTI: https://bit.ly/2yAkaJs See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    58 min
See All (20)

About

Jazz is a conversation — and that’s what The Late Set is all about. Join broadcaster Greg Bryant and critic Nate Chinen each month for perceptive variations on a theme, and their related interview with a special guest. Just like a hang at the end of the gig, in the back of the club, it’s direct, unfiltered and illuminating, revealing the music and its culture in a deeper light.

Information

  • Creator
    WRTI
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2024
  • Episodes
    20
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2024 Copyright (c) 2022 by WRTI
  • Show Website
    The Late Set

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