The Late Set

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:

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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




Want to support The Late Set?

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