{"id":3751,"date":"2022-01-25T20:25:55","date_gmt":"2022-01-26T02:25:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/?p=3751"},"modified":"2023-08-26T22:09:05","modified_gmt":"2023-08-27T03:09:05","slug":"tyler-mitchell-marshall-allen-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/tyler-mitchell-marshall-allen-i\/","title":{"rendered":"Orbital Rings of Saturn: A Conversation with Tyler Mitchell and Marshall Allen (Part One)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

“I never wanted to be a part of planet Earth, but I am compelled to be here, so anything I do for this planet is because the Master-Creator of the Universe is making me do it. I am of another dimension. I am on this planet because people need me.”- Sun Ra<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout his life, Sun Ra consistently claimed birth on the planet Saturn. While a credentialed astronomer would likely question the veracity of his claims, the pianist\/composer\/musical innovator’s legacy in bringing the alien and foreign into the jazz tradition is without question. Sun Ra was an icon of Afrofuturism, if not its originator. With his various incarnations of the Arkestra, he breathed new life into the, then, mostly stale, big band form. He experimented with the electric bass, electronic keyboards, rhythm machines, and synthesizers over a decade before Miles and others “went electric.” Even limited to acoustic sounds, Sun Ra was among the first bandleaders to use two double basses and to present freeform group improvisations. But perhaps his most significant contribution to music was his sonic language. His unique use of tones is identifiable regardless of the size of the ensemble. While Sun Ra returned home twenty-nine years ago, his fellow astral travelers keep his message alive with the Arkestra and the musical ideas of its members. Tyler Mitchell’s Dancing Shadows<\/em> featuring Marshall Allen (Mahakala Music, 2022) persuasively shows this enduring legacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a way, Mitchell and Allen traveled different, but partially overlapping, treks along the spaceways. Mitchell, also a go-to bassist for some heavyweights of straight-ahead music, first left orbit in 1985, only to later return and then voyage out yet again over the last decade. The now 97 years young saxophonist, Allen, has remained a trusty navigator since 1958. In 1995, he became commander of the Arkestra ship. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the artists’ somewhat divergent trajectories, their collaborations often scream Sun Ra’s influence. Dancing Shadows<\/em> digs deep into the essence of the pianist’s music, more than just specific notes. Half of the album consists of Sun Ra compositions. But, due to the sextet’s instrumentation, they are reimagined. The original arrangements are fractured and reassembled. The band spreads the absent piano’s essence among the three horns. Original compositions come from the heart of collective improvisation, which played such a central role in Sun Ra’s music. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this first of our two-part conversation with Mitchell and Allen, we discuss the excellent album and the process of its creation. With the inclusion of someone as culturally significant as Allen, we also adopted a broader perspective, covering not just the Arkestra but also his first time meeting Sun Ra and the years since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PostGenre: How do you both feel the pandemic has shaped your music<\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Marshall Allen: Pandemic? Well, I just got my booster shot. It kicked my ass too. The first day wasn\u2019t so bad, but the next day hit me hard. I\u2019ve been staying in the house. That booster shot got me down today, so I\u2019ve been doing a lot of sleeping.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Tyler Mitchell: The pandemic got me sort of more underground. We weren\u2019t performing anymore, so we were just practicing a lot more. I spent a lot of time trying to practice. To woodshed for real, you know? And we still haven\u2019t gotten back to really working again yet.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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PG: Marshall, since you mentioned your home, maybe you could provide an update on how it is doing<\/a>. It is a special place. For over half a century, it has been the headquarters for the Sun Ra Arkestra. It has been a space where the band\u2019s members have lived, rehearsed, and explored music. The home partially collapsed in March of last year. Has it been fully repaired?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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MA: We are still working on it. You get charged so much money to fix up a place. I mean, I just had a new cabinet put in. Boom $1,800. And, next, I have a new stove coming in. Another $800. It all adds up. But the biggest thing was my basement floor, and they fixed that.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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PG: Are there any plans to turn the home into a museum since it is so historically significant?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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MA: Yeah, maybe at some point. There is so much important stuff here. But I\u2019m still working here.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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PG: Yes, you\u2019ve been with the Arkestra for almost 64 years now and are still going strong.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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MA: Since 1958, but closer to 63 years. Before then, I served in Europe with the army. I was stationed in France with the 92nd<\/sup> Infantry. After [World War II], I spent two or three years studying in a conservatory in Paris with funding provided by the GI Bill. When I returned, I came back to Chicago. And that is where I first met Sun Ra. At the time, Sun Ra was looking for people to play his music. There wasn\u2019t a lot of work in those days. You would do a lot of playing but would not make much money. But it was a good workshop. You would learn to play how he wanted you to approach his music. And I wanted to be a part of it, so I took my horn over to him and told him that I wanted to join.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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