Sahib Shihab

Sahib Shihab (nacido Edmund Gregory ; 23 de junio de 1925 – 24 de octubre de 1989) fue un saxofonista (barítono, alto y soprano) y flautista estadounidense de jazz y hard bop . Trabajó con diversos músicos, entre ellos Luther Henderson , Thelonious Monk , Fletcher Henderson , Tadd Dameron , Dizzy Gillespie , Kenny Clarke , John Coltrane y Quincy Jones . ^{[ 1 ]}

Nació en Savannah, Georgia , Estados Unidos. ^{[ 2 ]} Estudió en Nueva York desde los 3 años. Sahib Shihab comenzó a tocar el saxofón alto profesionalmente para Luther Henderson a los 13 años, ^{[ 3 ]} y estudió en el Conservatorio de Boston , ^{[ 4 ]} y tocó en Nueva York y sus alrededores con Art Blakey , Gigi Ryce / Benny Golson , Thelonious Monk , Oscar Pettiford , Dizzy Gillespie . Realizó giras con las bandas de Fletcher Henderson , Buddy Johnson , Roy Eldridge , Andy Kirk , Duke Ellington , Count Basie y los 17 Messengers originales de Blakey.

Fue uno de los primeros músicos de jazz en convertirse al Islam y cambió su nombre en 1947. ^{[ 2 ]} Perteneció al movimiento Ahmadiyya del Islam. ^{[ 5 ]} A finales de la década de 1940, Shihab tocó con Thelonious Monk , ^{[ 2 ]} y el 23 de julio de 1951 grabó con Monk (publicado posteriormente en el álbum Genius of Modern Music: Volume 2 ). ^{[ 6 ]} Durante este período, también apareció en grabaciones de Art Blakey , Kenny Dorham y Benny Golson . ^{[ 2 ]} La invitación para tocar con la big band de Dizzy Gillespie a principios de la década de 1950 fue de particular importancia, ya que marcó el cambio de Shihab al barítono . ^{[ 2 ]}

In 1952 - 1955 he toured with Illinois Jacquet in Europe, as well as with Coleman Hawkins and Sarah Vaughn. He also toured with Dakota Stanton from 1956 - 1958.

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. in 1960 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, in addition to composing and arranging for Swedish and Danish radio orchestras, and 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, where he toured with Quincy Jones and The Brothers Johnson in the States and Japan. He returned to Copenhagen in 1976, where he produced albums for Metronome Records, along with Kenny Drew entitled Brief Encounter, featuring the voices of Debby Cameron and Richard Boone. In 1979 he started a record company in partnership with Kenny Drew, called MATRIX. Some releases include: Prize Winners - Svend Asmussen Quartet, Funk Dumplin's - Clark Terry Quartet, Rain - Thomas Clausen Quartet, and Ernie Wilkins & the Almost Big Band by the Almost Big Band.

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 cancer on October 24, 1989, in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, aged 64.^[1]