Sahib Shihab
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Edmund Gregory |
| Born | (1925-06-23)June 23, 1925 Savannah, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | October 24, 1989(1989-10-24) (aged 64) Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Baritone, soprano and alto saxophone, Flute and alto flute |
| Years active | 1940s–1980s |
Sahib Shihab (born Edmund Gregory; June 23, 1925 – October 24, 1989) 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, Dizzy Gillespie, Kenny Clarke, John Coltrane and Quincy Jones among others.[1]
He was born in Savannah, Georgia, United States.[2] Edmund Gregory first played alto saxophone professionally for Luther Henderson aged 13,[3] and studied at the Boston Conservatory,[4] and to perform with trumpeter Roy Eldridge.[2] He played lead alto with Fletcher Henderson in the mid-1940s.[2]
He was one of the first jazz musicians to convert to Islam and changed his name in 1947.[2] He belonged to the Ahmadiyya sect of Islam.[5] During the late 1940s, Shihab played with Thelonious Monk,[2] and on July 23, 1951 he recorded with Monk (later issued on the album Genius of Modern Music: Volume 2).[6] During this period, he also appeared on recordings by Art Blakey, Kenny Dorham and Benny Golson.[2] 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.[2]
On August 12, 1958, Shihab was one of the musicians photographed by Art Kane in his photograph known as "A Great Day in Harlem". In 1959, he toured Europe with Quincy Jones.[2] Shihab, disillusioned with racial politics in United States, decided around this time to move to Europe. He settled in Scandinavia, first in Stockholm, Sweden, then moving in 1964 to Copenhagen, Denmark.[4] He worked for Copenhagen Polytechnic and wrote scores for television, cinema and theatre. He wrote a ballet based on the Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale, The Red Shoes.[2]
In Denmark, Shihab performed with local musicians such as the bass player Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen amongst others. Together with pianist Kenny Drew, he ran a publishing firm and record company.
In 1961, he joined the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band and remained a member of the band for the 12 years it existed.[2] He married a Danish woman and raised a family in Europe.
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 stay, working as a session musician for rock and pop artists and working as a copyist for local musicians. He spent his remaining years between New York and Copenhagen, and played in a partnership with Art Farmer.[7] He also led his own jazz combo called Dues.
From 1986, Shihab was a visiting artist at Rutgers University.[8]
Shihab died from liver cancer on October 24, 1989, in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, aged 64.[1]
With Art Blakey
With Brass Fever
With Donald Byrd
With Betty Carter
With the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band
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 Roy Haynes
With Milt Jackson
With Philly Joe Jones
With Quincy Jones
With Abbey Lincoln
With Howard McGhee
With Thelonious Monk
With Mark Murphy
With Phineas Newborn, Jr.
With Oscar Pettiford
With Specs Powell
With A. K. Salim
With Tony Scott
With Mal Waldron
With Julius Watkins and Charlie Rouse
With Randy Weston
With Gene Quill, Hal Stein and Phil Woods
With Phil Woods
With Idrees Sulieman
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