At 99, he’s playing sold-out shows in sequined robes

On May 27, at Philadelphia’s World Café Live, saxophonist Marshall Allen burst onto the stage, his jazz sound unmistakable, his colorful costume ablaze, his movements defying his 99 years on the planet.

A member of the Sun Ra Arkestra for 65 years and the leader of the world-famous big band for the last 30 years, he delivered powerful alto sax solos, made note-bending sounds on an electric horn, and drew loud cheers from the audience.

“Some people are geniuses. Some people advance more than others in life,” Allen said in an interview with The Inquirer before the sold-out concert, days after he turned 99 on May 25. “I’m just trying to balance my music and my life. The more new things come, you try to change with the times.”

The Sun Ra band has not only changed with the times but also has influenced them. It remains one of the most identifiable bands in the world, with a sound and dress that are still as adventurous as its founder, Sun Ra. Today, Allen is at the forefront.

The World Café Live show was the 16-member group’s third sold-out concert in a week, after earlier shows in New York and Baltimore.

“I have to play these gigs, man. I’ve been on the road all these years,” Allen said, reflecting on a career that has endured since his days playing in France after serving in the Army during World War II.

Wearing a shiny red robe trimmed with gold sequins, a matching African headdress, and a pair of purple, gold, and black loafers he said he bought in London, Allen continued the legacy of the band’s founder with the Philadelphia show. He wailed on the alto saxophone and an electronic horn called the Steiner EVI.

A small man with long, wispy white hair and a beard, Allen said the music he has played for decades and the lessons he learned working with Sun Ra have helped to keep him vibrant. “I’m just a person who is trying to use the music for my well-being,” he said sitting on the porch of his rowhouse in Germantown.

One of the true ironmen of jazz and arguably the world’s oldest leader of a major, active jazz band, Allen is helping the Sun Ra sound endure.

In the 1940s, musician Herman Poole Blount combined his musical interests with cosmic matters, adopted the name Sun Ra, and claimed to be from Saturn. He embraced the rising focus of the ‘40s on outer space, galactic themes, Biblical teaching, philosophy, and Egyptology. In the 1950s, he formed his own big band, combining those elements in his recordings and performances. “Sun Ra was talking about outer space, talking about the Bible and Egypt. And he didn’t believe in America,” Allen said.

Sun Ra dubbed his band, which at times had more than 25 members, the Sun Ra Arkestra instead of orchestra. The band members wore homemade, space-themed costumes spangled with rhinestones, sequins, and mirrors, and featuring elaborate headdresses.

The Arkestra has continued under various names since the 1950s. Sun Ra, an early advocate of free jazz and the emerging avant-garde, died in 1993 at age 79. Allen, one of the group’s longest-tenured members, became the Arkestra’s leader.

Marshall Belford Allen was raised in Louisville, Ky., where as a youngster he studied the saxophone. He enlisted in the Army in 1942, serving in Europe during WWII. Allen was an infantry soldier with the Buffalo Soldiers and a member of an Army band. “We played all the cities in Germany and Austria. We were in the Special Services band and all like that. We played on VE Day in Germany,” he said.

After leaving the Army in 1949, Allen stayed in France for nearly a decade, studying music and performing with American jazz luminaries visiting Paris. “I was over there playing with Don Byas, Coleman Hawkins, James Moody, and all of the cats. All the bands would come over there. They were my friends,” he said.

He returned to the United States in the early 1950s, settling in Chicago where he was drawn to the music of Sun Ra. A few years later he joined the band. Sun Ra, Allen recalled, was a demanding leader. “You play something that you think is good and he’d say, ‘That ain’t what I want.’ ”

After long stints in Chicago and New York, Sun Ra and the Arkestra members settled in Philadelphia, moving to a rowhouse on a shady, tree-lined street in Germantown in the 1970s. This house, where Allen lives, has long been a communal house for Arkestra members.

Before last week’s concert, Arkestra saxophonist Knoel Scott described Allen as an outstanding musician and leader. “He’s amazing … he’s the most adaptable musician I have met.”

“He’s not like a lot of old people. … He’s growing continuously. His ear is impeccable, so it’s a joy to play with him,” said bassist Tyler Mitchell, an Arkestra member since 1984.

At the concert, Allen roared in a bold musical performance. With screaming sax solos, space-age sounds on the horn, and frequent hand gestures, he directed the band through a battery of jazz compositions and improvisations. They conjured jazz classics such as “Yardbird Suite” and “Night Train.” He closed the show with Sun Ra’s classic “Space Is the Place.”

On stage, Allen was presented with a German chocolate birthday cake bearing the words “Space Is the Place.” He blew out the candles, drawing cheers from the crowd.

“I have a lot of good days,” he said while sitting on his porch. “If I keep hanging around, I could be 150.”