The Late Set

Comfort and Joy

By Greg Bryant,

Published November 22, 2023 at 6:05 AM EST

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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, Gregory Porter and Samara Joy? 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.

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The Late Set is produced by Alex Ariff.

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Greg Bryant

Greg Bryant has been a longtime curator of improvisational music as a broadcaster, writer, host and musician. As a young child, he began absorbing the artistry of Miles Davis, Les McCann, Jimmy Smith, James Brown, Ornette Coleman, Weather Report, and Jimi Hendrix via his parent's record collection. He was so moved by what he was experiencing that he took pride in relaying all of his discoveries with anyone who would listen.

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Nate Chinen

Nate Chinen has been writing about music for more than 25 years. He spent a dozen of them working as a critic for The New York Times, and helmed a long-running column for JazzTimes. As Editorial Director at WRTI, he oversees a range of classical and jazz coverage, and contributes regularly to NPR.

See stories by Nate Chinen