Marshall Allen

Marshall Allen

Born: May 25, 1924
in Louisville, Kentucky, USA
Marshall Belford Allen is a native Kentuckian born in Louisville on May 25, 1924. He is most famously known for his avant-garde jazz and free jazz work with bandleader / keyboardist Sun Ra, with whom he recorded from the late 1950s until Ra's passing in 1993. Allen plays the alto saxophone, oboe, piccolo, flute, and EVI. Aside from Sun Ra's Arkestra, Allen recorded with Paul Bley's band in 1964 and Olatunji's group in the mid-1960s. Allen has been the Arkestra's bandleader since the deaths of Ra and John Gilmore.

Movies for Marshall Allen...

Mystery Mister Ra
Title: Mystery Mister Ra
Released: July 4, 1984
Type: Movie
Sun Ra, Archie Shepp and company in concert in Paris, 1984. Documents performances and rehearsals in Paris, France, 1984. It includes the compositions "Love in Outer Space," "Nuclear War," and "1984" by Sun Ra and the standards "Tea for Two" and "Blue Lou," as well as interviews with Sun Ra and Archie Shepp.
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Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise
Title: Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise
Character: Himself
Released: October 1, 1980
Type: Movie
Robert Mugge filmed jazz great Sun Ra on location in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. between 1978 and 1980. The resulting 60-minute film includes multiple public and private performances, poetry readings, a band rehearsal, interviews, and extensive improvisations. Transferred to HD from the original 16mm film and lovingly restored for the best possible viewing experience.
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Space Is the Place
Title: Space Is the Place
Character: Arkestra member
Released: November 1, 1974
Type: Movie
Sun Ra and his Solar Myth Arkestra return to Earth after several years in space. Ra proclaims himself "the alter-destiny", meets with inner-city youths and battles with the devil himself to save the black race.
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Spaceways
Title: Spaceways
Character: Himself
Released: January 1, 1968
Type: Movie
A music documentary made with Sun Ra.
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The Magic Sun
Title: The Magic Sun
Released: January 1, 1966
Type: Movie
Multi-faceted artist Phil Niblock captures a brief moment of an interstellar communication by the Arkestra in their prime. Black turns white in a so-called negative post-process, while Niblock's camera focuses on microscopic details of hands, bodies and instruments. A brilliant tribute to the Sun King by another brilliant supra-planetary sovereign. (Eye of Sound)