Marshall Allen is 102

... and still going strong!

This year we are celebrating the centennial of the remarkable Miles Davis. Miles was only 65 when he died. Louis Armstrong was 69 when he died. Duke Ellington was 75. I just heard that Sonny Rollins has died at the age of 95. I had the privilege of seeing him perform live many times.

I am coming up to 80 with little to recommend me.

On May 25 2026, the incredible Marshall Allen was102.

I saw Marshall Allen perform live when he was a mere boy of 98. He was amazing. He was leading the Sun Ra Arkestra with great vigour. Unfortunately, John Gilmore passed on some time ago. I was pleased to see a guest sitting in with the Arkestra. Young Gary Bartz, a stripling of 82, was there on the same stage where I had seen him in 1971 in the band of Miles Davis.

https://meself652939566.wordpress.com/2022/07/17/space-is-the-place/

Marshall Belford Allen, alto saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, bandleader, and arranger, was born May 25, 1924 in Louisville, Kentucky.

During the Second World War he enlisted in the 92nd Infantry Division, known as the Buffalo Soldiers Division and was stationed in France. Marshall studied alto saxophone in Paris and played in Europe with pianist Art Simmons and saxophonist James Moody.

Critic Scott Yanow described Allen’s playing as “Johnny Hodges from another dimension”.

Allen joined the Sun Ra Arkestra in 1958 and led its reed section for decades. Following the deaths of Sun Ra and John Gilmore, Allen assumed leadership of the ensemble in the mid-1990s.

On October 4, 2024, he released his first single “African Sunset” from his debut album as a solo artist which was recorded a few days after his 100th birthday. The album New Dawn was released on February 14, 2025. He is the oldest person to release a debut album and the oldest person to release an album of entirely new material.

At 102, he is till the active leader of the Sun Ra Arkestra, a role he took on in 1995. While he no longer takes long-distance international flights, he continues to play live frequently and direct the Sun Ra Arkestra. On January 10, 2026, the Sun Ra Arkestra delivered a sold-out performance in the rotunda of the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. This was a finale wrap party for artist Rashid Johnson’s acclaimed exhibition, A Poem for Deep Thinkers. Labelle legend Nona Hendryx joined the band mid-set from the audience to recite a powerful poem, backed by the Arkestra’s soaring arrangements.

Since 1968, Allen has lived in the Arkestral Institute of Sun Ra in Germantown, Philadelphia. He maintains a continuous presence in his hometown of Philadelphia with regular live gigs.

In April 2025, he received the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Jazz Masters Fellowship, which is the highest honour bestowed upon jazz artists in the United States.