Listen: Marshall Allen, 100-Year Old Sun Ra Arkestra Bandleader, Previews Debut Solo Album ‘New Dawn’ with Title Track Featuring Neneh Cherry

Photo Credit: Ayana Wildgoose

In May 2024, just days after celebrating his 100th solar return, the legendary Marshall Allen continued a legacy of immense musical achievement by setting out for another new frontier. Now, the fruits of his centennial year will finally arrive with New Dawn, the great composer, wind pioneer and Sun Ra Arkestra bandleader’s debut solo album, set to release via Mexican Summer on Feb. 14. To preview the wisdom and spirit captured in his first release under his own name, Allen has shared the album’s title track, featuring vocalist Neneh Cherry.

On New Dawn, Allen shows true reverence to the influence of his friends and forebearers while communicating an urgent sonic message all his own. Away from his constant collaborators in the Arkestra, which he joined in 1958 and came to lead in 1995, the cosmic jazz master himself becomes the central focus on this project. In the spotlight, Allen’s subtle personal inflections give voice to the depth of feeling and history in his finely honed style.

“New Dawn” provides a perfect demonstration of Allen’s artistic sensibilities, with softly circling strings and poetic verses from Cherry lifting up the composer’s alto saxophone solo, which drifts from tenderly lyrical to wide-eyed and exploratory. After more years of fearless and vital artistic innovation than anyone, Allen’s music is still full of wonder and uniquely capable of revealing a world beyond words. Further selections from the seven-track project will doubtlessly elaborate his initial statement, culminating in a multifarious portrait of a truly singular artist. 

New Dawn is available to pre-order and pre-save now. Watch the stirring documentary-style music video for the title track below, and read on for the album’s complete tracklist.

New Dawn – Marshall Allen

1. Prologue

2. African Sunset

3. New Dawn (feat. Neneh Cherry)

4. Are You Ready

5. Sonny’s Dance

6. Boma

7. Angels and Demons at Play