Just by still being an active musician Marshall Allen naturally breaks or expands records all the time now, no matter what he's doing. And one record that will be especially hard to break for anyone else is the recording and release of his debut album at the respectable age of 100 years. Naturally this kind of news also reaches an unfamiliar audience, so I found it quite amusing to read gratulating social media comments from people who clearly thought the man has only just discovered music as a new retiree's hobby, without knowing that in truth he already entertained his fellow soldiers during the Second World War and without any hyperbole can be counted among the most legendary Jazz musicians alive.
MARSHALL ALLEN - New Dawn (LP) (2025)
It's easy to forgive the uninitiated, because the saxophonist has never gained a household name status of the Parker/Davis/Coltrane/Monk kind, which even people not interested in music at all would somehow recognize. And the reason for that certainly is not a lack of achievements or recorded works, but rather that most of those just manifested in the shadow of a greater name: groundbreaking visionary and Aftro-futurist Sun Ra.
In the late 1950's Allen became Sun Ra's protégé and a key player in his Arkestra, his signature style not only on sax but later also electronic wind instruments being a major component of the ensemble's sound ever since. For the last thirty years since Ra's ascendence he has even led the Arkestra himself, only during the last couple of years being absent from live shows far from Philadelphia. I'm lucky that I could witness him here, abroad in Germany, twice at the age of 94 and 95 - and his performance was still absolutely on fire!
Obviously the idea for this record didn't come up because Marshall Allen felt that he still had to prove anything. It's pretty safe to assume that this humble gentleman didn't care at all about the fact that he had never recorded anything solely under his own name. But when the idea was brought to him, he was joyfully onboard. So just a couple of days after his first three-digit birthday he went into the studio with a premiere selection of musicians - many also members of the Sun Ra Arkestra, among them multi-intrumentalist Knoel Scott as arranger - to bring seven of his compositions to life.
And "New Dawn" has become a great showcase of his musical spectrum.
After a sweet short cosmic "Prologue" we are immediately exposed to the warm light of the "African Sunset", which combines a classic big band sound with longing strings and Allen's electronic trills as a retro-futuristic Space Age juxtaposition.
For the rest of the album he mostly switches to alt saxophone and a mostly warm harmonious performance, which especially compliments the guest in the title song, a beautiful Vocal Jazz piece sung achingly smoothly by Neneh Cherry.
"Are You Ready" then closes the first side on a more upbeat note with a tradional big band swing with bluesy guitar, in which several players take the spotlight for solos. Marshall Allen only positions himself as one among many players, always putting theteam above himself. Certainly the piece here which would fit... second most seamlessly into a classic Arkestra setlist.
The most exciting stuff however happens on side B. "Sonny's Dance" begins much more intimate, like a Free Jazz performance in a small smoky club. It's a rhythmically much more complex and feels more self-indulgent in the best way that makes Jazz haters take to their heels.
Sprawling over almost ten and a half minutes the following "Boma" is a careless jam over a funky Latin groove which I could enjoy forever.
The album closes with the smallest instrumentation and a very familiar bass line, unmistakingly belonging to a tune written by Allen and Ronnie Boykins in the 1960's, "Angels And Demons At Play".
If you want to criticize without class you can complain that this is neither the hugest nor the most innovative Jazz record ever - it his however an absolutely fresh sounding reminder of the fact that this guy has actually co-innovated all this stuff long before most of us were even born. So no, I won't look for hairs swimming in this soup. It tastes way to delicious for that!
In the late 1950's Allen became Sun Ra's protégé and a key player in his Arkestra, his signature style not only on sax but later also electronic wind instruments being a major component of the ensemble's sound ever since. For the last thirty years since Ra's ascendence he has even led the Arkestra himself, only during the last couple of years being absent from live shows far from Philadelphia. I'm lucky that I could witness him here, abroad in Germany, twice at the age of 94 and 95 - and his performance was still absolutely on fire!
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| Marshall Allen live 2019 |
And "New Dawn" has become a great showcase of his musical spectrum.
After a sweet short cosmic "Prologue" we are immediately exposed to the warm light of the "African Sunset", which combines a classic big band sound with longing strings and Allen's electronic trills as a retro-futuristic Space Age juxtaposition.
For the rest of the album he mostly switches to alt saxophone and a mostly warm harmonious performance, which especially compliments the guest in the title song, a beautiful Vocal Jazz piece sung achingly smoothly by Neneh Cherry.
"Are You Ready" then closes the first side on a more upbeat note with a tradional big band swing with bluesy guitar, in which several players take the spotlight for solos. Marshall Allen only positions himself as one among many players, always putting theteam above himself. Certainly the piece here which would fit... second most seamlessly into a classic Arkestra setlist.
The most exciting stuff however happens on side B. "Sonny's Dance" begins much more intimate, like a Free Jazz performance in a small smoky club. It's a rhythmically much more complex and feels more self-indulgent in the best way that makes Jazz haters take to their heels.
Sprawling over almost ten and a half minutes the following "Boma" is a careless jam over a funky Latin groove which I could enjoy forever.
The album closes with the smallest instrumentation and a very familiar bass line, unmistakingly belonging to a tune written by Allen and Ronnie Boykins in the 1960's, "Angels And Demons At Play".
If you want to criticize without class you can complain that this is neither the hugest nor the most innovative Jazz record ever - it his however an absolutely fresh sounding reminder of the fact that this guy has actually co-innovated all this stuff long before most of us were even born. So no, I won't look for hairs swimming in this soup. It tastes way to delicious for that!
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