One of the least researched and virtually forgotten master arrangers of the 1950s is Ahmad Khatab Salim—better known as A.K. Salim. He had a muscular, orchestral style and lyrical instrumental approach that caught the ear and packed a punch. Salim also arranged for Dizzy Gillespie and had one of the finest Latin-jazz pens, scoring Machito's Kenya in 1957 and tracks for Herman's Heat & Puente's Beat in 1958. A Salim chart required the very best musicians and soloists.
In addition to all of the freelance arranging work Salim took on, he also scored and conducted four albums as a leader for Savoy—Flute Suite, Stable Mates, Jazz Is Busting Out All Over and Pretty for the People.
Salim was born in Chicago in 1922. He studied alto saxophone and clarinet, and played in territory bands in the early 1940s until 1943. A jaw injury forced him to give up playing, and he turned to arranging instead. But Salim was more than a great arranger.
As evidenced by the precise nature of his recordings, he clearly was an excellent manager of musicians and a gifted conductor. He had a knack for choosing just the right artists for recording sessions and rehearsing them expertly. Little else is known about Salim, I'm afraid, or when he died.
Here's an hour-long compilation of A.K. Salim's Savoy albums...
In addition to all of the freelance arranging work Salim took on, he also scored and conducted four albums as a leader for Savoy—Flute Suite, Stable Mates, Jazz Is Busting Out All Over and Pretty for the People.
Salim was born in Chicago in 1922. He studied alto saxophone and clarinet, and played in territory bands in the early 1940s until 1943. A jaw injury forced him to give up playing, and he turned to arranging instead. But Salim was more than a great arranger.
As evidenced by the precise nature of his recordings, he clearly was an excellent manager of musicians and a gifted conductor. He had a knack for choosing just the right artists for recording sessions and rehearsing them expertly. Little else is known about Salim, I'm afraid, or when he died.
Here's an hour-long compilation of A.K. Salim's Savoy albums...
This story appears courtesy of JazzWax by Marc Myers.
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