The Late Set

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:

youtu.be/QQ4tlfSpl3Y





Special thanks to Vintage Instruments:

vintage-instruments.com




Chapters


00:00 — Intro

06:45 — Interview with Béla Fleck

59:00 — Outro + credits




Want to support The Late Set?
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wrti.org/donate





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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”




Want to support The Late Set?
Become a WRTI member:

wrti.org/donate





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instagram.com/wrtimusic





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youtube.com/@WRTImusic





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[email protected]

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: wrti.org


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



Follow us on Instagram: instagram.com/wrtimusic

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Write us an email: [email protected]