Sahib Shihab
Sahib Shihab | |
---|---|
Birth name | Edmond Gregory |
Born | Savannah, Georgia, United States |
23 June 1925
Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. Nashville, Tennessee, United States |
Genres | Jazz Hard bop |
Occupation(s) | Saxophonist |
Instruments | Baritone saxophone Alto saxophone |
Years active | 1940s-1980s |
Associated acts | Gene Quill, Phil Woods, Hal Stein |
Notable instruments | |
Saxophone |
Sahib Shihab (born Edmund Gregory; 23 June 1925, Savannah, Georgia – 24 October 1989, Nashville, Tennessee) was an American jazz and hard bop saxophonist (baritone, alto, and soprano) and flautist. He variously worked with Luther Henderson, Thelonious Monk, Fletcher Henderson, Tadd Dameron, and Dizzy Gillespie amongst others.[1]
Biography
He first played alto saxophone professionally for Luther Henderson at age 13[2] and went on to study at the Boston Conservatory and to play with trumpeter Roy Eldridge. He played lead alto with Fletcher Henderson in the mid 1940s.
He was one of the first jazz musicians to convert to Islam and changed his name in 1947. During the late 1940s, Shihab played with Thelonious Monk and on July 23, 1951 he recorded with Monk for the Lp Genius of Modern Music: Volume 2. During this period, he also appeared on recordings by Art Blakey, Kenny Dorham and Benny Golson. The invitation to play with Dizzy Gillespie's big band in the early 1950s was of particular significance as it marked Shihab's switch to baritone.
On August 12, 1958, Shihab was one of the musicians photographed by Art Kane in his famous photograph known as A Great Day in Harlem.
In 1959, he toured Europe with Quincy Jones after getting disillusioned with racial politics in United States and ultimately settled in Scandinavia. He worked for Copenhagen Polytechnic and wrote scores for television, cinema and theatre.
In 1961, he joined the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band and remained a key figure in the band for the 12 years it existed. He married a Danish woman and raised a family in Europe, although he remained a conscious African-American still sensitive to racial issues.
In the Eurovision Song Contest 1966, Shihab accompanied Lill Lindfors and Svante Thuresson on stage for the Swedish entry "Nygammal Vals".
In 1973, Shihab returned to the United States for a three-year hiatus, working as a session man for rock and pop artists and also doing some copy writing for local musicians. He spent his remaining years between New York and Europe and played in a partnership with Art Farmer.[3]
Shihab died October 24, 1989, in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, aged 64.[1]
Discography
As leader
- 1957: Jazz We Heard Last Summer split-LP with Herbie Mann)
- 1957: Jazz Sahib - Savoy Records, with Bill Evans, Phil Woods
- 1963: Conversations (aka Sahib's Jazz Party) (Polydor / Debut) - with Allan Botschinsky, Ole Molin, Alex Riel, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen
- 1964: Summer Dawn (Argo) - with Jimmy Woode, Francy Boland, Kenny Clarke, Ake Persson
- 1965: Sahib Shihab & the Danish Radio Jazz Group (Oktav) - with Allan Botschinsky, Alex Riel, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen
- 1966: Companionship (Vogue) - with Jimmy Woode, Francy Boland, Kenny Clarke, Ake Persson, Fats Sadi
- 1968: Seeds (Atlantic) - with Francy Boland, Fats Sadi, Jimmy Woode, Jean Warland, Kenny Clarke
- 1972: Sentiments (Storyville) - with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Jimmy Hopps, Kenny Drew
- 1972: La marche dans le désert - Sahib Shihab + Gilson Unit (Futura Ger 34)
- 1973: Flute Summit (Atlantic Records)
- 1988: Soul Mates (Uptown) - with Charlie Rouse
- 1998: And All Those Cats (compilation)
As sideman
With Art Blakey
- Theory of Art (1957)
- Art Blakey Big Band (Bethlehem, 1957)
With Brass Fever
- Time Is Running Out (Impulse!, 1976)
With Donald Byrd
- Jazz Lab (Columbia, 1957) - with Gigi Gryce
- Modern Jazz Perspective (Columbia, 1957) - with Gigi Gryce
With Betty Carter
- Out There (1958)
- I Can't Help It (1992)
With the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band
- Jazz Is Universal (Atlantic, 1962)
- Handle with Care (Atlantic, 1963)
- Now Hear Our Meanin' (Columbia, 1963 [1965])
- Sax No End (SABA, 1967)
- All Smiles (MPS, 1968)
- Faces (MPS, 1969)
- Latin Kaleidoscope (MPS, 1968)
- Fellini 712 (MPS, 1969)
- All Blues (MPS, 1969)
- More Smiles (MPS, 1969)
With John Coltrane
- Coltrane (1957)
With Tadd Dameron
- Fontainebleau (1956)
With Art Farmer
- Manhattan (Soul Note, 1981)
With Curtis Fuller and Hampton Hawes
- Curtis Fuller and Hampton Hawes with French Horns (Status, 1957 [1962]) - also released as Baritones and French Horns (Prestige, 1957)
With Dizzy Gillespie
- Jazz Recital (Norgran, 1955)
- The Dizzy Gillespie Reunion Big Band (MPS, 1968)
With Benny Golson
- Benny Golson's New York Scene (Contemporary, 1957)
- Take a Number from 1 to 10 (Argo, 1961)
With Johnny Griffin
- Lady Heavy Bottom's Waltz (1968)
- Griff 'N Bags
With George Gruntz
- Noon in Tunisia (1967)
With Roy Haynes
- Jazz Abroad (Emarcy, 1955)
With Milt Jackson
- Plenty, Plenty Soul (Atlantic, 1957)
With Philly Joe Jones
- Drums Around the World (Riverside, 1959)
With Quincy Jones
- The Birth of a Band! (Mercury, 1959)
- The Great Wide World of Quincy Jones (Mercury, 1959)
- I Dig Dancers (Mercury, 1960)
With Abbey Lincoln
- It's Magic (Riverside, 1958)
With Howard McGhee
- The Return of Howard McGhee (Bethlehem, 1955)
With Thelonious Monk
With Phineas Newborn, Jr.
- Phineas Newborn, Jr. Plays Harold Arlen's Music from Jamaica (RCA Victor, 1957)
With A. K. Salim
- Blues Suite (Savoy, 1958)
With Tony Scott
- The Modern Art of Jazz (1957, Seeco) - with Bill Evans, Paul Motian
- Free Blown Jazz (1957, Carlton) - with Bill Evans, Paul Motian
With Mal Waldron
- Mal-2 (1957)
With Julius Watkins and Charlie Rouse
- The Jazz Modes (Atlantic, 1959)
With Randy Weston
- Uhuru Afrika (Roulette, 1960)
With Gene Quill, Hal Stein and Phil Woods
- Four Altos (Prestige, 1957)]
With Phil Woods
- Rights of Swing (Candid, 1961)
References
- Articles with hCards
- 1925 births
- 1989 deaths
- American jazz flautists
- American jazz saxophonists
- Bebop flautists
- Bebop saxophonists
- Musicians from Georgia (U.S. state)
- Hard bop flautists
- Savoy Records artists
- Hard bop saxophonists
- Atlantic Records artists
- African-American Muslims
- Converts to Islam
- 20th-century American musicians