Happy 100th Birthday to "Maestro" Marshall Allen!
"You got to face the music/You got to listen to the cosmos song"
Saxophonist Marshall Allen, the director and longest serving member of the Sun Ra Arkestra, turns 100 years old today (Sat 25th May).
Longtime readers of this newsletter will know that the Arkestra are a recurring presence in these pages. I first encountered this unique collective – the brainchild of space jazz/Afrofuturism pioneer Sun Ra, who departed Earth in 1993 – at The Forge in Camden last August, where they performed under the direction of Knoel Scott.
That concert captured my imagination to the point where, a few months later, I made a pilgrimage to Philadelphia in the hope of finding the still-performing “Maestro,” who had been absent from the London show.
As I wrote last year, I ended up getting to see Marshall Allen perform with a small, all-female band at the tiny Solar Myth club on Philly’s Broad Street. I also got to meet Marshall briefly both before and after the show, and came away with a few observations on the experience of meeting a man about to enter his eleventh decade.
In photos, Marshall Allen appears to be a small man, but he is not small. I don’t quite know how to explain that, but it’s true. He also has very large, warm, leathery hands.
Everything Marshall Allen does has purpose. Watch him move and you’ll see no wasted effort. His step is slow, but his eyes are sharp, and give the impression of not missing much.
Marshall Allen is one of those musicians who speaks through his instrument. He is not known for his stage patter. He’s given many interviews and is a gifted storyteller, but at the same time, you get the feeling that this kind of interaction is slightly painful for him – he’d rather communicate through music.
Marshall joined the Sun Ra Arkestra in 1958, which means he spent 37 years sitting beside and listening to the great tenor saxophonist John Gilmore, who joined in 1953 and stayed until his death in 1995. Mathematically speaking, Marshall must have heard more of Gilmore’s playing than anyone beside Sun Ra himself.
I wondered how much Marshall’s longevity and good health could be attributed to the kind of music he plays. This type of jazz provides endless room for improvisation, so that Marshall is never in the position of playing the same thing night after night by rote. He also makes a pointed effort to get out and play with younger musicians (although I guess everyone is a younger musician at this point), as evidenced by his recent Ghost Horizons project, where each monthly show featured a different band.
Meeting Marshall also bought about an epiphany of sorts. Previously, I had thought Marshall was simply Sun Ra’s successor, a longtime bandmember who had stepped in to fill the void after his mentor’s passing. Having met him, I now understand that he’s much more than that – I’m now of the opinion that the spirit of Sun Ra, and those of the many departed Arkestra members, lives on within Marshall Allen.
The only way I can describe “Maestro” Marshall Allen is to say that he sparkles – and not just because he’s usually covered in sequins and glitter. He remains full of life, untouched by bitterness, and surrounded by people who are eager to hear what he has to say. And he was last onstage only yesterday!
Happy Birthday Mr Allen!
Here is a clip of Marshall playing the West African kora, accompanied by Kash Killion on bolon