For more than 25 years, bassist Carlos Henriquez has been the beating heart of the rhythm section in the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, as well as other bands led by Wynton Marsalis. He’s done more than his share of swinging in those settings. But as a product of the Nuyorican community, Henriquez has also remained deeply rooted in clave — the pulse at the center of folkloric Afro-Latin music.

In this episode, he joins Josh Jackson to discuss Monk con Clave, his dynamite new album with the JALC Orchestra, featuring special guests including pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba and percussionist Pedrito Martínez.

Henriquez also reflects on his formative path through jazz education, and weighs in on a timely question of succession.

• 00:00 — Intro
• 03:05 — Interview with Carlos Henriquez
• 40:36 — Carlos Henriquez performs “I Mean You” (solo bass) and discusses his bass inspirations
• 1:00:28 — “This I Dig”

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When we declare music a “universal language,” what space do we leave for regional dialects and local customs? How has jazz evolved from a uniquely American export into a music that truly knows no borders? These and other questions hang in the air as we prepare to celebrate International Jazz Day at a moment of roiling global tensions.

It feels like the right time to connect with Kresten Osgood — a Danish drummer, composer and commentator, and host of the podcast Dangerous Sounds. He joins Josh Jackson for a far-ranging conversation, sharing his perspective on the music and the mission.

Following the interview, Osgood performed a solo drum improvisation. Watch here: youtu.be/arjCn6U4QRU

• 00:00 — Intro
• 04:30 — Interview with Kresten Osgood
• 43:22 — “This I Dig”

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Irreversible Entanglements can always be trusted to push revolutionary concerns to the fore. But the band puts just as much stock in community, as we’ll hear in this provocative and lively episode.

Four of the group’s five members — vocalist Camae Ayewa (aka Moor Mother), trumpeter Aquiles Navarro, saxophonist Keir Neuringer, and bassist Luke Stewart — joined Josh Jackson at The Fabric Workshop and Museum for a listening session and public discussion of Don Cherry’s 1972 album Organic Music Society, as a tie-in to the exhibition The Living Temple: The World of Moki Cherry, presented by Ars Nova Workshop.

The band also talked about Future Present Past, its knockout fifth release, and the imperative of speaking truth to power, now as ever.

The band also discusses Future Present Past, its knockout fifth release, along with the enduring imperative of speaking truth to power — now as ever.

• 00:00 — Intro
• 04:30 — Interview with Irreversible Entanglements
• 46:47 — “This I Dig”

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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.

• 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

• 00:00 — Intro
• 06:45 — Interview with Béla Fleck
• 59:00 — Outro + credits

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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.

• 00:00 — Intro
• 06:57 — Interview with Mark Turner
• 40:05 — “This I Dig”

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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

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Search high and low, in this world and beyond, and you won’t ever find another Sun Ra. So we’re excited about the broadcast premiere of Sun Ra: Do the Impossible, a PBS American Masters documentary that sheds new light on the inexhaustibly inventive composer-bandleader, poet-philosopher, and adopted Philadelphian.

Our own Nate Chinen is a commentator in the film — and so is our guest this episode, the author and critic Marcus J. Moore, who brings a multilayered appreciation of Sun Ra’s artistry to our conversation. Space is the Place!

Chapters:
00:00 … Intro
02:33 … Interview Marcus J. Moore
38:55 … “This I Dig”

More on Sun Ra: Do the Impossible: pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/sun-ra-do-the-impossible-documentary/37455/

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