Celestial

Sun Ra Arkestra saxophonist Knoel Scott reaches for the sky to release debut studio album Celestial with long-time collaborator Marshall Allen. Best known for his long-standing role in Sun Ra Arkestra, saxophonist, composer, vocalist and performer Knoel Scott is a jazz legend in his own right. A celebration of his tight knit relationship with Arkestra leader Marshall Allen, Celestial marks Scott’s first major studio release after more than 40 years at the vanguard of modern jazz.

Building on a career that has seen Scott record and perform alongside jazz greats such as Sun Ra, Charles Earland, Lou Donaldson and Leon Thomas, the 5-track album is steeped in the composition and performance styles of the African American jazz tradition, from blues and be-bop to the cosmic avant-garde.

Recorded in mono direct to tape and cut on a Scully lathe at the all-analogue Artone Studios in the Netherlands, Celestial brings together an inter-generational ensemble including bright sparks of the UK jazz scene, Charlie Stacey and Mikele Montolli, alongside Arkestra alumnus Chris Henderson. For Scott and Allen, it represents the culmination of decades of collaboration.The album begins in explosive style with the hard grooving ‘Les Funambules’, a prime example of Scott’s ability to walk a tightrope between hard bop form and raw improvisation.

The session then orbits around Scott’s composition ‘Celestial’, an interstellar 12-minute space walk that was originally written for the Sun Ra Arkestra with strings but was never recorded.Featuring Marshall Allen on the otherworldly EWI (Electronic Wind Instrument), ‘Celestial’ also hears Scott in full voice, reciting lyrics written by Arkestra vocalist and lyricist Arnold “Art” Jenkins.