Sahib Shihab – Summer Dawn

Sahib Shihab's Summer Dawn captures the American-born saxophonist and flautist in 1964, after he had become a key figure in the Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland circle in Europe. Rather than presenting a straight hard-bop blowing date, the album works with changing tempos, layered percussion and a strong sense of colour: a reminder that Shihab had lived through several major phases of modern jazz and absorbed them into a personal style of his own.

The opening Lillemor is especially telling, balancing a firm pulse with flute lines, tempo shifts and a rural, romantic atmosphere. Across the album, Shihab moves between flute, alto and baritone saxophone, backed by Francy Boland on piano, Kenny Clarke on drums, Jimmy Woode on bass, Joe Harris on bongo and Åke Persson on trombone. That lineup gives the record its distinctive blend of elegance and swing, with even the ballad passages kept alive by an undercurrent of rhythm.

Summer Dawn is also a compact way into Shihab's broader catalogue. Later notes on related Rearward releases singled out tracks such as Please Don't Leave Me, Waltz For Seth and Herr Fixit, underlining how well this session stands alongside his other European recordings of the period. If you know Shihab mainly from big-band work, this is a particularly rewarding small-group showcase.