The Late Set – Détails, épisodes et analyse

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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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

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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. 

More to explore: 

• The 10 Best Jazz Albums of 2023
• Roulette TV: Allison Miller presents Rivers in Our Veins
• The Year in Jazz: A Critics’ Roundtable

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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.

More to explore: 

• Samara Joy's polyphonic stardom
• Gregory Porter: Personal Stories For Universal Songs
• Ready or not, here come the yuletide grooves

More from WRTI:

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What does it mean to pick a winner in jazz? We’re considering that question in the wake of the Herbie Hancock Jazz Piano Competition, which Nate covered in New York City. The subject leads us to a discussion of the competitive tradition in this music, which extends from Kansas City jam sessions to Jazz at the Philharmonic Tours to the present day. Nobody has a more nuanced handle on the topic than Joshua Redman, who hit the ground running when he won the Thelonious Monk Jazz Saxophone Competition 30 years ago.

References for this episode:

• Jahari Stampley wins the Herbie Hancock Jazz Piano Competition
• Joshua Redman's new group walks the "Streets of Philadelphia"
• What Did The Monk Competition Ever Do For You?

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Philadelphia has always punched above its weight as a jazz town, producing legendary players and sometimes even changing the game. We each have our own history with the City of Brotherly Love, so on this first episode of The Late Set, we’ll compare notes — and check in with an absolute authority on the subject, pianist Orrin Evans. He has thoughts (a lot of thoughts) about what it means to be a Philly cat, how to describe “the Philly sound,” and how we should feel about the scene.

More to explore:

• Moment’s Notice: our Philadelphia-area jazz listings
• As Lovett Hines Turns 80, Philly jazz luminaries share the love
• Jazz Philadelphia's Hometown Heroes: Spotlight on Pianist Orrin Evans

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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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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

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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

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