A longtime member of The Sun Ra Arkestra, alto saxophonist Marshall Allen later assumed leadership of the group following the departures of Sun Ra and his immediate successor, John Gilmore. He was also a regular collaborator of Babatunde Olatunji, in the process emerging as one of the first jazz musicians to fuse the avant-garde with traditional African music. Allen was born May 25, 1924, in Louisville, KY, beginning clarinet lessons at the age of ten.

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