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On the show
Recent episodes
Best Jazz of 2025 (So Far)
Jun 24, 2025
37m 06s
Into the Amazon, with Amaro Freitas
Jun 10, 2025
44m 13s
New Pinnacle, with Brandee Younger
May 27, 2025
1h 01m 39s
Run the Song, with Ben Ratliff
May 12, 2025
1h 00m 17s
Lost Coast, with Jenny Scheinman
Apr 29, 2025
46m 10s
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| Date | Episode | Description | Length | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6/24/25 |  Best Jazz of 2025 (So Far) | Don’t look now, but we’ve reached the midpoint of 2025 — and listened our way through well over a hundred albums, in search of elevated sounds. It feels like the right time for a progress report, so we’re sharing half a dozen of our leading contenders. Nate gives the nod to albums by pianist Myra Melford, alto saxophonist Steve Lehman, and pianist Sullivan Fortner. Josh brings his endorsement to releases by bassist John Clayton, trumpeter Nicholas Payton, and tenor saxophonist Noah Preminger. Along the way, they talk about a handful of other noteworthy recordings — and allude to some other highlights that await us in the latter half of the year.Support WRTI: https://bit.ly/2yAkaJsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. | 37m 06s | ||||||
| 6/10/25 | Into the Amazon, with Amaro Freitas | Amaro Freitas was born in Recife, on the northeastern coast of Brazil. He began playing the piano in church, discovering jazz after his first exposure to the music of Chick Corea. What Freitas has done since is a small miracle of syncretism: his style as a pianist and composer nods to the modern jazz tradition but also the sounds of Afro-Brazilian and indigenous music — and the music of nature, some of which he gathered in field recordings from the Amazon. Earlier this year, Freitas sat down with Josh Jackson during the Winter Jazzfest in New York, for a wide-open conversation about his album Y’Y and so much more. We know you’ll enjoy it.Support WRTI: https://bit.ly/2yAkaJsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. | 44m 13s | ||||||
| 5/27/25 | New Pinnacle, with Brandee Younger | The spiritual and the sensual find common cause in the music of Brandee Younger. As the world’s leading improvising harpist, she carries a torch for Alice Coltrane, whose astral meditations continue to light a path. But there’s also a place in Younger’s art for playfulness, even mischief — as she reminds us with Gadabout Season, her third album for Impulse! Records. Before a recent show at Solar Myth, part of Ars Nova Workshop’s 25th anniversary season, Younger sat down with The Late Set for this fun and far-ranging conversation. Weeks later, she’d be named a Doris Duke Artist and play Coltrane’s harp in a tribute at Carnegie Hall — making “New Pinnacle,” the title of a song on the new album, feel like a statement of fact.Support WRTI: https://bit.ly/2yAkaJsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. | 1h 01m 39s | ||||||
| 5/12/25 | Run the Song, with Ben Ratliff | “Out quickly and on the move” — so begins a bracing new book by Ben Ratliff, the brilliant music critic and scholar. It’s titled Run the Song: Writing About Running About Listening, and it follows Ratliff’s thoughtful line of inquiry as he brings music into his daily running practice. His guiding concern is the way that movement sharpens his perceptions: “Running and listening can illuminate each other,” he writes. In this episode, recorded in front of an audience at Solar Myth, Ratliff talks about this and other ideas in conversation with Nate Chinen, a friend and former colleague at the New York Times. Follow WRTI: https://www.instagram.com/wrtimusichttps://www.facebook.com/WRTImusic https://www.youtube.com/WRTImusicSupport WRTI: https://bit.ly/2yAkaJsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. | 1h 00m 17s | ||||||
| 4/29/25 | Lost Coast, with Jenny Scheinman | Some artists can always be counted on to channel a sense of place. For violinist and composer Jenny Scheinman, it’s the homeward pull of Northern California’s so-called Lost Coast, between the redwood sprawl of Humboldt County and the rugged terrain that meets the Pacific. Scheinman grew up there, and she carries its rustic charm and mystique in her music — even when it assumes a form as elegant as the songs on All Species Parade, her recent double album. In this live episode, she converses with Josh Jackson before a recent performance with her band at Solar Myth, part of Ars Nova Workshop’s 25th anniversary season. Don’t forget to brush the sand out of your hair. Follow WRTI: https://www.instagram.com/wrtimusichttps://www.facebook.com/WRTImusic https://www.youtube.com/WRTImusicSupport WRTI: https://bit.ly/2yAkaJsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. | 46m 10s | ||||||
| 4/15/25 | Pilgrimage, with Wadada Leo Smith and Vijay Iyer | Few events embody the act of listening and receiving quite like the Big Ears Festival, which happens every spring in Knoxville, Tennessee. Nate was there this year, conducting artist interviews and taking in as much music as he could handle. He reports back with some highlights, and shares an interview he conducted just before heading down — with trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith and pianist Vijay Iyer, who have a new duo album, Defiant Life, and performed together at Big Ears. Their ideal of spontaneous creative communion, and engagement with the state of the world, feels right on time. Support The Late Set by becoming a WRTI Member: https://www.wrti.org/contact-us-membershipSupport WRTI: https://bit.ly/2yAkaJsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. | 1h 01m 32s | ||||||
| 4/1/25 | Record Store Day Preview | April is Jazz Appreciation Month, and we’re celebrating just as we always do, by chasing down live music and supporting the scene. But we’re also looking ahead to Record Store Day, which falls on April 12. It will bring a fresh bounty of new releases —including a customary haul of archival discoveries in deluxe editions. So for this episode, we’re talking all about RSD: the ins and outs, the ups and downs. We’ll get into this year’s bonanza, with a particular focus on two amazing albums recorded by leading trumpeters at the Blue Morocco in 1967: Kenny Dorham’s Blue Bossa in the Bronx and Freddie Hubbard’s On Fire. This episode might just put a dent in your record budget. Don’t say we didn’t warn you! The Late Set is made possible by the members of WRTI. The best way to support us is to become a WRTI member. Support WRTI: https://bit.ly/2yAkaJsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. | 57m 13s | ||||||
| 3/18/25 | Branches and Paths, with Renee Rosnes | Renee Rosnes has traced a momentous musical trajectory over the last 40 years. A pianist and composer of exceptional insight, she’s served apprenticeships with Joe Henderson, Wayne Shorter and Ron Carter, and earned rare stature among her peers. Almost a decade ago, she formed Artemis, an all-women cohort that just released its third album, Arboresque. Rosnes also has a new solo release, Crossing Paths — her first full-length album of Brazilian music, a longtime source of inspiration. (She enlisted two certified legends, Edu Lobo and Joyce Moreno, for the project.) In this conversation, Rosnes opens up about all of the above, as well as the “concrete ceiling” that female instrumentalists are forced to contend with, even now. Renee Rosnes: Brazilian Dreams Come True (DownBeat) A Jazz Quintet Bubbling With Good Vibes? Meet the Women of Artemis (NY Times) Renee Rosnes on Piano Jazz (NPR) Support WRTI: https://bit.ly/2yAkaJsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. | 53m 11s | ||||||
| 3/4/25 | Let Her Cook, with Endea Owens | Endea Owens knew what she meant when she called her 2023 debut Feel Good Music. As a bassist, a bandleader and an organizer, she specializes in the kind of buoyant uplift that just won’t quit. You can see her putting this into practice most weeknights on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, as an engine of the house band. And you can feel it in her work with The Cookout, which has been both a working band and a model of community outreach. We talked about all of this and more with Endea at the 2025 Winter Jazzfest in New York. Stick around after the interview to hear Nate and Josh reflect on the legacy of jazz on late-night television, with a focus on Saturday Night Live as that show marks its 50th anniversary. NPR: Bassist Endea Owens Cooks Up Jazz For The Community NPR Music: Endea Owens and The Cookout: Tiny Desk Concert Fresh Air: Questlove charts 50 years of 'SNL' musical hits (and misses) Support WRTI: https://bit.ly/2yAkaJsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. | 1h 02m 18s | ||||||
| 2/18/25 | Poetry is the Process, with Aja Monet | There’s a heartstopping moment in “for sonia,” Aja Monet’s ruminative elegy for the revolutionary poet Sonia Sanchez, when she recalls uttering the word “poetry” at a community organizing meeting, only to be met with flustered refusal. “Who’s got time for poems when the world’s on fire?” she asks, either quoting a naysayer or posing the question to herself. The answer, of course, lies in the poems themselves — especially as Monet embodies and delivers them in partnership with a corps of intuitive improvisers. We sat down with her in New York the morning after her 2025 Winter Jazzfest performance, to talk about poetic practice, political necessity, musical imperatives — and the fires that were literally consuming her adopted city of Los Angeles. Don’t miss some deep truths from one of our most committed truth-tellers. For Further Reference: NPR: Words, sounds and the art of listening with Aja Monet NPR: Aja Monet: Tiny Desk Concert NYT: Aja Monet, a Musical Poet of Love Support WRTI: https://bit.ly/2yAkaJsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. | 1h 14m 07s | ||||||
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| 2/4/25 | Grammy Recap, with Natalie Weiner | What was up with the jazz field at this year’s Grammy Awards? A big win by a legend who died three years ago? Two major awards for a Christmas release? There’s so much to talk about — and that’s before we even get to the mad disrespect of the In Memoriam segment. Here to talk it all down with Nate is the esteemed critic Natalie Weiner, who covers jazz for an array of outlets, and writes about country music in the popular Substack newsletter Don’t Rock the Inbox. You won’t find a more swinging recap of Music’s Biggest Night.More to Explore: Don’t Rock the Inbox Jazz at the Grammy Awards: this year, the story remains the same 2025 Grammy winners: Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, Chappell Roan and more Support WRTI: https://bit.ly/2yAkaJsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. | 55m 59s | ||||||
| 1/21/25 | Recovery with John Clayton | Earlier this month, bassist and bandleader John Clayton flew from Los Angeles to New York to receive a high honor: the Bruce Lundvall Visionary Award, at Jazz Congress. On the day of the ceremony, the Eaton wildfire destroyed his home of 40 years, along with his daughter’s home and many others. Clayton lost everything, including irreplaceable heirloom instruments. But as he tells The Late Set, speaking from temporary living quarters in L.A., he is focused on what lies ahead, and the overwhelming love and support that has flowed in from all corners. He has an extraordinary story to tell. We hope it touches and inspires you as much as it did us.Related: Jazz artists in Los Angeles band together in the wildfires' aftermath by Greg Bryant MusiCares: Los Angeles Fire Relief GoFundMe: Wildfire Relief Fund Jazz Foundation of America Support WRTI: https://bit.ly/2yAkaJsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. | 51m 35s | ||||||
| 1/8/25 | New Year’s Resolutions (with the McLendons) | For our first episode of 2025, Nate and Josh Jackson talk through a few fresh New Year’s resolutions related to listening. And we’re sharing one of our favorite interviews in recent memory: a sit-down with Samara Joy, her father and her grandfather at Mother Bethel AME Church. Touching on deep gospel roots, strong family bonds and a spirit of service, it’s a special conversation that summons the energy we want to bring into the year. Our intro and interstitial music comes from The Savettes. More to explore: Watch our video Joy & Praise: The McLendon Legacy Listen to our episode with Samara Joy and Gregory Porter Support WRTI: https://bit.ly/2yAkaJsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. | 1h 02m 52s | ||||||
| 12/24/24 |  Year in Review with Immanuel Wilkins | We heard so many great albums in 2024, none more imaginative or compelling than Blues Blood, by alto saxophonist and composer Immanuel Wilkins. This episode features an illuminating conversation that Immanuel had at REC Philly with Josh Jackson, as part of the Jazz Philadelphia Summit. We’re also taking a look back at the stories, themes and other highlights from a jam-packed year. And on a bittersweet note, this is Greg’s last episode on The Late Set, as he bids a fond farewell to Philly and WRTI. You don’t want to miss it. Our intro music comes from pianist Jacob Mann: https://www.instagram.com/jacobmannmusic/Support WRTI: https://bit.ly/2yAkaJsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. | 1h 14m 46s | ||||||
| 12/10/24 |  Behold the Mayo with Michael Mayo | The jazz vocal tradition is always an evolving proposition, but rarely does that notion feel truer or more affirming than in the output of Michael Mayo. Fly, his sterling second album, captures the forces of energy and creativity that he brings to the art form, on reimagined standards as well as smart original songs. Michael stopped into WRTI during a recent swing through town, straight from the airport. We talked about his upbringing as the child of two busy backing musicians, and how he pursues a band ideal even as he’s shining out front. He also reflects on the state of jazz singing, and considers how a vocalist can sneak musical complexities into the mainstream. And he divulges some secret intel about a cult-favorite side project, Shrek is Love. Follow WRTI: https://www.instagram.com/wrtimusic https://www.facebook.com/WRTImusic https://www.youtube.com/WRTImusic Support WRTI: https://bit.ly/2yAkaJsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. | 50m 54s | ||||||
| 11/26/24 |  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/2yAkaJsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. | 51m 14s | ||||||
| 11/12/24 |  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/2yAkaJsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. | 53m 01s | ||||||
| 10/29/24 |  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/2yAkaJsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. | 44m 47s | ||||||
| 10/16/24 |  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/2yAkaJsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. | 54m 36s | ||||||
| 9/24/24 |  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/2yAkaJsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. | 1h 02m 24s | ||||||
| 8/27/24 |  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/2yAkaJsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. | 59m 33s | ||||||
| 7/16/24 |  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/2yAkaJsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. | 1h 16m 44s | ||||||
| 6/18/24 |  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/2yAkaJsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. | 58m 01s | ||||||
| 5/21/24 |  Remembering Ron Miles: Bill Frisell and Rudy Royston | 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. Jazzwise: A requiem for Ron: Ron Miles: Old Main Chapel NPR: Ron Miles, cornetist who imbued modern jazz with heart and soul, dies at 58 PBS: Ron Miles, beloved fixture of Denver jazz scene, dead at 58 Support WRTI: https://bit.ly/2yAkaJsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. | 50m 31s | ||||||
| 5/3/24 |  BONUS: Search for the New Landmark: honoring Lee Morgan | 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. More from WRTI: A landmark for Lee Morgan, and the grassroots effort behind it How a jazz legend's resting place was lost and found, 50 years after his tragic death A Film About Jazz Trumpeter Lee Morgan Sparks Memories for Odean Pope Support WRTI: https://bit.ly/2yAkaJsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. | 17m 58s | ||||||
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Chart Positions
11 placements across 10 markets.
Chart Positions
11 placements across 10 markets.