A. K. Salim

Ahmad Khatab Salim or Ahmad Kharab Salim (born Albert Atkinson) (July 28, 1922 – January 1, 2003) was an American jazz composer, and arranger.

Biography
Salim attended DuSable High School with Bennie Green, Dorothy Donegan and Gene Ammons and played alto saxophone in King Kolax's band from 1938 to 1939 before working with Jimmy Raschel and Tiny Bradshaw. He stopped playing after a jaw injury in 1943 and arranged music for the big bands of Lucky Millinder, Cab Calloway, Jimmy Lunceford, Lionel Hampton and Count Basie who recorded his composition "Normania" in 1949, and recorded it again in 1952 as "Blee Blop Blues". Salim left music for a career in real estate from 1949 to 1956 but returned to write and arrange Latin jazz for Tito Puente, Machito, Dizzy Gillespie and others. Salim released three albums under his leadership on Savoy Records in the late 1950s and recorded a further album for Prestige Records in 1964.

Salim died on January 1, 2003, aged 80.

As leader

 * Flute Suite (Savoy, 1957) with Frank Wess and Herbie Mann
 * Stable Mates (Savoy, 1957) split album with Yusef Lateef
 * Pretty for the People (Savoy, 1957)
 * Blues Suite (Savoy, 1958)
 * Afro-Soul/Drum Orgy (Prestige, 1965)

As arranger/composer
with Gene Ammons With Count Basie With Dizzy Gillespie With Illinois Jacquet With Machito With Herbie Mann With Phineas Newborn, Jr. With Tito Puente
 * Jug Sessions (EmArcy, 1947 [1976])
 * Basie Jazz (Clef, 1952 [1954])
 * Basie in London (Verve, 1956)
 * Count Basie at Newport (Verve, 1957)
 * Basie at Birdland (Roulette, 1961)
 * World Statesman (Norgran, 1956)
 * Dizzy Gillespie at Newport (Verve, 1957)
 * Groovin' with Jacquet (Clef, 1951-53 [1956])
 * Kenya (Roulette, 1957)
 * Salute to the Flute (Epic, 1957)
 * Flute, Brass, Vibes and Percussion (Verve, 1960)
 * Phineas Newborn, Jr. Plays Harold Arlen's Music from Jamaica (RCA Victor, 1957)
 * Puente Goes Jazz (RCA, 1956)
 * Herman's Heat & Puente's Beat! (Everest, 1958) with Woody Herman