Sahib Shihab - And All Those Cats (CD)

All Music Guide

This is a terrific sounding Italian compilation of sounds by Sahib Shihab, the great saxophonist and flutist who is criminally underrecognized for this contribution not only to the language of hard bop, but for his multidimensional look at world music and his influence on soul jazz. A complete iconoclast, Shihab followed the beat of his own drummer and that is clearly on display here in recordings compiled between 1964 and 1970. While "Set Up," the first cut here flows in the last gasp of hard and post bop, beginning with the selfpenned "Peter's Waltz," a seemingly innocent mid tempo waltz, is quickly transformed in Shihab's language into an early entry in the soul jazz canon with its blues groove and loping lines based on the accenting the rhythm section. "The End Of A Love Affair," with its light Brazilian samba groove, hand percussion, and sprightly melody (Shihab blowing flute here), the exotic core of his music comes right to the fore and stays there on tracks like "Om Mani Padme ...Hum," and the gorgeous colors in "Campi's Idea," (named for studio engineer Gigi Campi) with the contrasting tone of Ake Persson's trombone," that never stray far from the blues. The big fat honking funk (as in Horace Silver's use of the word, not George Clinton's) in "Stoned Ghosts" with killer trumpet fills from Benny Bailey is a clear standout here, but of the album's 15 cuts, there isn't a weak moment in the bunch. Seek this one out. - Thom Jurek, All Music Guide Read more Less