Sahib Shihab

Sahib Shihab (born Edmund Gregory; 23 June 1925, Savannah, Georgia – 24 October 1989, Nashville, Tennessee) was an American jazz saxophonist (baritone, alto, and soprano) and flautist. He was a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.

Biography
He first played alto saxophone professionally for Luther Henderson at age 13 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 forties.

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. During this period, he also found time to appear on many recordings by artists including Art Blakey, Kenny Dorham and Benny Golson. The invitation to play with Dizzy Gillespie's big band in the early fifties was of particular significance as it marked Sahib's switch to baritone.

In 1958, Sahib was one of the musicians photographed by Art Kane in his A Great Day in Harlem picture.

In 1959, he toured Europe with Quincy Jones after getting fed up with racial politics in USA 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 ran. He married a Danish lady 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, Sahib returned to the United States for a three-year hiatus, working as a session man for rock and pop artists and also doing some copywriting for local musicians. He spent his remaining years between New York and Europe and played in a successful partnership with Art Farmer and died in Tennessee.

As leader

 * 1957: Jazz We Heard Last Summer split-LP with Herbie Mann)
 * 1957: Jazz Sahib - Savoy Records, with Bill Evans, Phil Woods
 * 1962: Sahib Shihab & the Danish Radio Jazz Group (Oktav) - with Allan Botschinsky, Alex Riel, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen
 * 1963: Conversations - with Allan Botschinsky, Ole Molin, Alex Riel, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen
 * 1964: Summer Dawn (Argo) - with Jimmy Woode, Francy Boland, Kenny Clarke, Ake Persson
 * 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)
 * 1998: And All Those Cats (compilation)

As sideman
With Art Blakey With Brass Fever With Donald Byrd With Betty Carter With John Coltrane With Tadd Dameron With Art Farmer With Curtis Fuller and Hampton Hawes With Dizzy Gillespie With Benny Golson With Johnny Griffin With George Gruntz With Milt Jackson With Philly Joe Jones '''With Abbey Lincoln With Thelonious Monk With Phineas Newborn, Jr. With Charlie Rouse With Tony Scott With Mal Waldron With Randy Weston With Phil Woods
 * Theory of Art (1957)
 * Art Blakey Big Band (Bethlehem, 1957)
 * Time Is Running Out (Impulse!, 1976)
 * Jazz Lab (Columbia, 1957) - with Gigi Gryce
 * Modern Jazz Perspective (Columbia, 1957) - with Gigi Gryce
 * Out There (1958)
 * I Can't Help It (1992)
 * Coltrane (1957)
 * Fontainebleau (1956)
 * Manhattan (Soul Note, 1981)
 * Curtis Fuller and Hampton Hawes with French Horns (Status, 1957 [1962]) - also released as Baritones and French Horns (Prestige, 1957)
 * Jazz Recital (Norgran, 1955)
 * The Dizzy Gillespie Reunion Big Band (MPS, 1968)
 * Benny Golson's New York Scene (Contemporary, 1957)
 * Take a Number from 1 to 10 (Argo, 1961)
 * Lady Heavy Bottom's Waltz (1968)
 * Griff 'N Bags
 * Noon in Tunisia (1967)
 * Plenty, Plenty Soul (Atlantic, 1957)
 * Drums Around the World (Riverside, 1959)
 * It's Magic (Riverside, 1958)
 * Genius of Modern Music: Volume 1
 * Phineas Newborn Plays Jamaica (September 7, 8 & 9, 1957) - (RCA Victor LPM 1589)
 * Soul Mates (1988)
 * The Modern Art of Jazz (1957, Seeco) - with Bill Evans, Paul Motian
 * Free Blown Jazz (1957, Carlton) - with Bill Evans, Paul Motian
 * Mal-2 (1957)
 * Uhuru Afrika (Roulette, 1960)
 * Four Altos (Prestige, 1957) - with Gene Quill and Hal Stein