Maestro Marshall Allen - 100 Arrivals Serenading the Earth

For the 100th Arrival Day of the Director of the Sun Ra Arkestra

With Maestro Marshall Allen, the Union Pool show, Brooklyn, NY, Summer 2022.

My May is only complete because of this momentous event! Happy Arrival Day!¹ “We Travel the Spaceways.”

Maestro Marshall Allen - 100 Arrivals Serenading the Earth

I once told you how you have, on a warm June night, I saw Saturn in the sky, sensing the spirit of Sun Ra shooting straight back.

You told me how so often you too would stare at Saturn, wondering, hoping that you are best on the legacy of Sun Ra and his Arkestra where you took on the lead.

We all knew you’d make your 100th arrival day. Was it destiny or was it Alter Destiny? What matters is that you have firmly placed your star among the spaceways we must travel.

You shine on the stage as the sage of interstellar voyagers. Time again to share with Earth the wonder of imagination, our most powerful weapon to let out the truth.

As you once told me in congratulations, “On up, straight ahead!”

On up, straight ahead,Maestro! It’s the time!

© Ángel L. Martínez 1 June 2024

1. Sun Ra (1914-1993), being, as he always taught us, from Saturn, called his birthdate his Arrival Day .