Shihab, Sahib [Gregory, Edmund] (Savannah, GA, 23 June 1925 - Tennessee, 24 Oct 1989)
Alto and baritone saxophonist, and flutist
He studied with Elmer Snowden, and first worked
professionally in a band led by the pianist Luther Henderson (1938). After attending
Boston Conservatory (1941-2) he was the lead alto saxophonist in Fletcher
Henderson's band (1944-6); he then became a Muslim and adopted the name Shihab. From 1947 he worked with some of the most prominent
modern jazz bandleaders, including Tadd Dameron, Thelonious Monk, Art Blakey, Dizzy Gillespie, and Illinois Jacquet,
and in 1959 he traveled to Europe with Quincy Jones in Harold Arlen's show Free
and Easy. Apart from an extended stay in
Shihab was one of the first bop musicians to make use of the flute, but his playing on baritone saxophone, which combines a delicate tone with an inventive flow of ideas, is held by many to be his best work.
Roland Baggenaes
The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, © Macmillan Reference Ltd 1988