100-year-old sax legend Marshall Allen shares first track from new album 'Live in Philadelphia'

Having just released his debut solo album, the aptly titled New Dawn, at the age of 100, revered Sun Ra Arkestra saxophonist Marshall Allen swiftly releases a live follow up in the form of Live in Philadelphia with his Ghost Horizons band.

Released on 23 May 2025 to coincide with Allen’s 101st birthday (on 25 May), the album spotlights wide-ranging improvisations with saxophonists Immanuel Wilkins, James Brandon Lewis and Elliott Levin; keyboardist Brian Marsella; bassists William Parker, Eric Revis (Branford Marsalis Quartet, Tarbaby), Luke Stewart (Irreversible Entanglements) and James McNew (Yo La Tengo); drummers Chad Taylor, Tcheser Holmes (Irreversible Entanglements), Mikel Patrick Avery (Natural Information Society, Theaster Gates), and Charlie Hall (The War on Drugs); vocalist Tara Middleton, trumpeter Michael Ray and trombonist Dave Davis of the Arkestra; the Ade Ilu Lukumi Batá Ensemble; and experimental noise duo Wolf Eyes.

Though Allen continues to lead and compose for the Arkestra and to perform close to home, health precautions in recent years have led him to cease international touring even as the ensemble continues to travel the globe. The timing coincided with the opening of Solar Myth in November 2022, providing Ars Nova with a permanent home after more than 20 nomadic years hosting concerts across the city. Sun Ra, who moved his Arkestra to the city he referred to as “Death’s Headquarters” in the late 1960s, has been a guiding light for the organisation throughout its history – the name Solar Myth is taken from one of the Arkestra’s myriad forms.

Listen to the first single ‘Square the Circle’ (feat. Charlie Hall and James McNew) below and to pre-save the album visit orcd.co/vygjbep