Sahib Shihab - Complete Sextet Sessions 1956-1957 / 2CD set

2008 European CD collection.

This double CD set features veteran bop era saxophonist Sahib Shihab (a.k.a. Edmund Gregory). After playing alto saxophone with Luther Henderson and Fletcher Henderson's bands, he tuned into the new music of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Despite his association with stars such as Roy Eldridge, Thelonious Monk, Art Blakey, Tadd Dameron, Lucky Thompson, Miles Davis, and Dizzy Gillespie, he remains largely underrated. While with Gillespie in 1951 he started to play baritone sax and since then alternated in both instruments, although the big horn became his main voice. In 1956 and 1957, before he went to Europe, he made along with several outstanding sidemen. some great sextet recordings on baritone, as a leader, mostly for Savoy Records, except one early alto session for Epic Records.

Here, for the first time on CD, are all these sextet sides plus two swinging dates he recorded with Mort Herberts group, also for Savoy. This collection surely will put him in the place he deserves in the jazz field.

CD 1
01. Swissmovement (Mort Herbert) 4:57
02. Night People (Mort Herbert) 4:41
03. I've Got You Under My Skin (Cope Porter) 3:10
04. Son Of The Preacher (Mort Herbert) 5:57
05. Hum-Bug (Sahib Shihab) 3:37
06. Southern Exposure (Kenny Burrell) 4:42
07. Blues For Fred And Fay (Mort Herbert) 7:21
08. Mitchs Carol (Mort Herbert) 6:00
09. S.M.T.W.T.F.S.S. Blues (Sahib Shihab) 6:36
10. Rockaway (John Jenkins) 6:43
11. The Things We Did Last Summer (Styne-Kahn) 7:05

CD 2
01. S.M.T.W.T.F.S.S. Blues (Sahib Shihab) 4:59
02. Sugar Dugar (Sahib Shihab) 4:39
03. Lo-Ba (Sahib Shihab) 7:39
04. The Moors (Melba Liston) 7:19
05. Jamila (Sahib Shihab) 5:33
06. Blu-A-Round (Sahib Shihab) 10:17
07. Le' Sneak (Sahib Shihab) 5:29
08. Ballad To The East (Melba Liston) 4:41
09. Ba-Dut-Du-Dat (Melba Liston) 6:02