'Lights On A Satellite' pays tribute to the life's work of Marshall Allen, who celebrated his 100th birthday on May 25, 2024. Recorded in Studio A at New York's Power Station on June 16, 2024, the album celebrates the exceptional musician's mastery as a multi-instrumentalist, arranger, bandleader, teacher and custodian of Sun Ra's legacy.

As if from the farthest reaches of space, a tremendous positive energy has come to us via "Light on a Satellite": It is Sun Ra's music, played by his Arkestra, more than 30 years after the legendary band founder's earthly demise - or, in other words, after his reported ascent to Saturn. Under the direction of Marshall Allen, the NEA Jazz Master (2025) and multi-instrumentalist, who celebrated his 100th birthday on May 25, 2024, Sun Ra's big band has arrived safely in the 21st century, after traveling Sun Ra's space ways for almost 70 years. This album pays tribute to the lifetime achievement of Marshall Allen, who leads the Sun Ra Arkestra since 1993. Recorded in Studio A at New York's Power Station on June 16, 2024, the album celebrates the mastery of the exceptional musician Marshall Allen as a multi-instrumentalist, arranger, bandleader, teacher, and guardian of Sun Ra's unique legacy.

As a tribute to the life's work of Marshall Allen, Frank Kleinschmidt of IN+OUT Records invited the Sun Ra Arkestra into the studio with 24 musicians in the largest possible line-up, with the goal of documenting the music in its polyphony and expansion in space and time in the best possible way. It is not only the variety of instruments used, but also the fact that musicians from four generations come together with a repertoire that spans 100 years of jazz history.

Artists

Sun Ra Arkestra (performer), Dave Hotep (guitar), Marshall Allen (gong, alto saxophone), Tara Middleton (violin / fiddle), Knoel Scott (alto saxophone, baritone saxophone, congas), Anthony Nelson (clarinet, baritone saxophone), Nasir Dickerson (tenor saxophone), James Stewart (flute, tenor saxophone), Chris Hemingway (alto saxophone), Michael Ray (trumpet), Cecil Brooks (trumpet), Vincent Chancey (horn), Brent White (trombone, bass trombone), Dave Davis (trombone), Robert Stringer (trombone), Nina Bogomas (harp), Owen Brown Jr. (violin / fiddle), Gwen Laster (violin / fiddle), Melanie Dyer (viola), Farid Barron (piano, keyboards, theremin), Carl LeBlanc (guitar), Tyler Mitchell (bass), George Gray (drums), Elson Nascimento (percussion, surdo), Jose Jorge Da Silva (percussion)