On May 25, 2024, Marshall Allen turned 100 years old. Two days later, he entered Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Soundworks studio to begin recording his debut solo album. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Allen enlisted in the military at 18. One day, after his return to America, club owner Joe Segal gave him a demo by a musician named Sun Ra. Ra took Allen on as a student in his nascent ensemble, the Arkestra, which is now considered one of the true watershed bands of the 20th century. After Ra’s death in 1993, Allen soon became the Arkestra’s full-time bandleader, a position he’s held ever since. Now, he’s released New Dawn—the first studio album under his own name. The lovely lead single “African Sunset” sounds like a bossa nova band playing aboard the Starship Enterprise. Neneh Cherry—stepdaughter of jazz trailblazer Don Cherry—lends her distinctive voice to the album’s centerpiece title track, a deliciously dreamy ballad. After 100 trips around the sun, Allen hasn’t slowed down creatively one bit. —Spike Carter