Jul 22, 2026 12:37 PM
In Memoriam: Rodney Holmes, 1966–2026
Drummer Rodney Holmes, a powerful presence behind the kit who emerged as an in-demand player on the New York scene…
Marshall Allen, left, and bassist/producer Jamaaladeen Tacuma in front of the Sun Ra House (aka the Arkestral Institute of Sun Ra) in Philadelphia.
(Photo: KA)Throughout 2026 the jazz community has commemorated a number of centennials for giants of the music who have passed, in some cases decades ago: John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Randy Weston, Melba Liston, Jimmy Heath and Tony Bennett, to name a few.
Which makes it all the more miraculous that Marshall Allen, two years past his own centennial (he’s 102 as of May 25), not only still walks the planet, but remains the very definition of indefatigable. After spending the majority of that estimable lifetime devoted to the Sun Ra Arkestra (first as a member and since 1995 as leader), Allen has branched off into a number of other pursuits.
Allen celebrated his 100th birthday with the release of his debut solo album, New Dawn, quickly followed by a collection of live recordings with his ever-changing Ghost Horizons ensemble. His latest release, 101: An Audio Odyssey, teams the saxophonist and bandleader with a multigenerational cohort of improvisers spearheaded by bassist and fellow Philadelphian Jamaaladeen Tacuma, including Nels Cline, Immanuel Wilkins and members of the Arkestra.
Tacuma offers a simple theory for why Allen remains so impressively active at an age that few ever even achieve. “Marshall loves to play,” the bassist explained. “If you sit down with him, he’s going to play until you stop him. Even then, he might just keep on going.”
According to Allen himself, he continues to perform not in spite of his age, but as a key component of that very longevity. “I play music for my well-being,” the maestro wrote in an email, via his son and manager, Ronnie Boyd. “And music continues to surprise me. Every time I pick up my horn or EVI, there’s a possibility of discovering something new.”
Tacuma had been brainstorming a collaboration with Allen for years before the opportunity arose. In 2015, he invited the Arkestra leader to headline the inaugural Outsiders Improvised & Creative Music Festival in Philadelphia. A decade later he returned the favor by contributing to New Dawn, which sparked a more focused plan.
The pieces came together at the 2025 Big Ears festival in Knoxville, Tennessee, where Tacuma was scheduled to play with the Free Form Funky Freqs and to reunite with Asha Puthli, the vocalist on Ornette Coleman’s Science Fiction album. When Puthli was unable to attend, Tacuma quickly assembled a supergroup that aligned with his vision for the Allen project: Wilkins, Cline and the Charlotte, North Carolina-based musicians Braxton Bateman and King Noli.
“Jamaaladeen Tacuma is full of surprises,” Cline said. “I had only played with Marshall Allen once — several years ago at Johnny Brenda’s in Philadelphia, along with the trio I was touring with that month consisting of Larry Ochs and Gerald Cleaver. … It was marvelous. Wild! Flash forward a few years, and now I am playing on what will be one of the very few Marshall Allen recordings without the Arkestra. Quite a thrill and quite an honor. The music is often funky and balances between form and freedom, as only Jamaaladeen can bring it. Marshall overdubbed his inimitable alto saxophone and [EVI], adding unpredictability and cosmic wonders to the proceedings.”
With everyone in one place, Tacuma scrambled to book an impromptu studio session and laid down the basic tracks for 101: An Audio Odyssey. He then brought the music back to Philly, where Allen added his contributions, along with Arkestra vocalist Tara Middleton and guitarist DM Hotep.
“The challenge for me as a producer in a situation like that is to try to match the energy and the vibration of the separate sessions,” Tacuma described. “That was no problem working with Marshall, even at his age. I think this album showcases Marshall’s talent inside of the modern setting that I was hearing for him, with younger musicians that brought a fresh language.”
That includes Wilkins, who has considered Allen a mentor since performing with the Arkestra at just 12 years old. Still a year shy of 30, Wilkins marveled at the elder’s unflagging creativity on the occasion of his 100th birthday. “Marshall’s been old my whole life,” he laughed. “He’s the LeBron James of jazz. LeBron’s still playing at 40, and Marshall’s still playing at 100.”
As the Ghost Horizons series, hosted sporadically at the Philly avant-jazz club Solar Myth, has proved, Allen is a voracious collaborator. Those shows have teamed him with a diverse roster ranging from saxophonist James Brandon Lewis, bassist Eric Revis and drummer Chad Taylor to The War on Drugs drummer Charlie Hall and Yo La Tengo bassist James McNew, to the experimental noise duo Wolf Eyes. So it makes perfect sense to pair him with Tacuma, who’s gone from Ornette Coleman’s Prime Time band to work with everyone from Late Show with David Letterman keyboardist Paul Shaffer to Aussie children’s group The Wiggles.
The album begins in unexpected fashion, with Wilkins on upright bass in tandem with Tacuma’s electric, a development that took even the producer by surprise. The session proceeds with Allen’s piercing alto wails over the hazy lope of “Slingshot Effect,” his EVI conjuring alien landscapes in parallel with Wilkins’ fervid alto atop King Noli’s tumultuous rhythms on “The Vernacular Of The Cosmic.” The band summons a propulsive funk on “Extraterrestrial Groove Master,” an abstract cacophony on “Meteor Gathering.” Middleton’s voice soars on the tender ballad “The Deepest Love,” and recites over Allen’s kora strumming and Tacuma’s tidal bass on “Ancestral Astral Traveler.”
“I’ve never believed that music stands still,” Allen concluded. “My years with the Arkestra taught me that creativity is an ongoing journey, not a destination. These newer projects give me an opportunity to meet different musicians, hear new ideas and continue growing. At this stage of my life, I’m still curious.” DB
A drummer’s drummer, Rodney Holmes gigged with everyone from Joe Zawinul and Carlos Santana to Steve Kimock and the Brecker Brothers.
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