On this episode of Radar I had the distinct pleasure of speaking with Marshall Allen of the Sun Ra Arakestra.
Marshall was born on May 25th, 1924 and is coming up on his 101st birthday. He is a multi-instrumentalist and the most revered and distinctive free jazz, avant-garde alto saxophone player. He also performs on flute, oboe, piccolo, and the EVI. Marshall is best known for his work with Sun Ra, having recorded and performed mostly in this context since the late 1950s, and having led The Sun Ra Arkestra since 1995.
We talked about performing for Eisenhower in World War II, his meeting with Sun Ra that resulted in him devoting his life to this work with Sun Ra’s music, plus his philosophies and what Marshall attributes his longevity to.
You can find the Arkestras most recent release, Lights on a Satellite, wherever and however you find your music. You can find Marshall’s new release, New Dawn, in all the same places. Please visit sunraarkestra.com to find tour dates plus much more.
Long live the Sun Ra Arkestra. Space is definitely the place.
Radar features discussions with artists and industry leaders who are creators and devotees of music and is produced by Dylan Hundley and The Vinyl District. Dylan Hundley is an artist and performer, and the co-creator and lead singer of Lulu Lewis and all things at Darling Black. She co-curates and hosts Salon Lulu which is a New York based multidisciplinary performance series. She is also a cast member of the iconic New York film Metropolitan.
