The Sun Ra Arkestra’s live shows combine big band swing, outer-space jazz, dancing, singing, chanting and Afro-pageantry. For most of the 20th century, iconic jazz bandleader Sun Ra helmed one of the planet’s most exciting big bands. Entertaining audiences from the Pyramids to the Hollywood Bowl, the visionary pianist/composer took his acclaimed Arkestra everywhere. A skilled clutch of musicians were with him at every turn of the journey, helping Ra fulfill his lofty mission of enhancing listeners’ lives. When Ra passed in the spring of 1993 at the age of 79, the group knew it was paramount to sustain his work.

Saxophonist John Gilmore initially took the helm, and after his death, Marshall Allen, inventive saxophonist and the brigade’s key lieutenant since the late 1950s, rightly emerged as the Arkestra’s leader in 1995. Since that time, from sold-out concerts around the world to two critically-acclaimed albums of his and Sun Ra music, he’s directed the beloved group to some of its highest heights.

The 98-year-old Allen is a wonder, shepherding the Arkestra through its second act, and pushing its members into making some of the outfit’s most remarkable sounds ever. Physically spry and musically daring, Allen is an on-stage beacon during the band’s stellar concerts, crafting the music’s dynamics, signaling soloists for lift-off, and configuring passages to reflect the ever-changing vibe between ensemble and audience. Like Sunny before him, Marshall is expert at delivering all sorts of turns to keep his presentation unique. The Arkestra’s schedule of dates across the country is relentless, yet the revered nonagenarian’s smile is as constant as his saxophone language is exuberant. The reason is simple: “My work is an extension of Sun Ra’s mission to provide for the spiritual healing of the planet Earth,” he often says.