Julian Priester


Julian Priester is an American jazz trombonist and occasional euphoniumist. He is sometimes credited as "Julian Priester Pepo Mtoto". He has played with Sun Ra, Max Roach, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, and Herbie Hancock.
WWW julianpriester.com

Biography

He was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Priester attended Chicago's DuSable High School, where he studied under Walter Dyett. In his teens he played with blues and R&B artists such as Muddy Waters, and Bo Diddley, and had the opportunity to jam with jazz players such as the saxophonist Sonny Stitt.
In the early 1950s, Priester was a member of Sun Ra's big band, recording several albums with the group, before leaving Chicago in 1956 to tour with Lionel Hampton, and he then joined Dinah Washington in 1958. The following year he settled in New York and joined the group led by drummer Max Roach, who heard him playing on the Philly Joe Jones album, "Blues for Dracula". While playing in Roach's group, Priester also recorded two albums as a leader, Keep Swingin' and Spiritsville, both of which were recorded and released by Riverside in 1960.
Priester recorded two albums with trumpeter Booker Little in 1961, Out Front and Booker Little and Friend, the first also features Roach, and Priester took part in the sessions for John Coltrane's Africa/Brass album, which was recorded in the same year. He left Roach's band during 1961, and between then and 1969 appeared as a sideman on albums led by Freddie Hubbard, Stanley Turrentine, Blue Mitchell, Art Blakey, Joe Henderson, McCoy Tyner, Johnny Griffin, and Sam Rivers. In 1969, he accepted an offer to play with Duke Ellington's big band, and he stayed with that ensemble for six months, before leaving in 1970 to join pianist Herbie Hancock's fusion sextet.
After leaving the Hancock band in 1973, Priester moved to San Francisco, where he recorded two more albums as a leader: Love, Love in 1974 and 1977's Polarization, both for the ECM label. In 1979 he joined the faculty of Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, where he taught jazz composition, performance, and history until retiring in 2011.
In the 1980s, he became a member of the Dave Holland's quintet, and also returned to Sun Ra's band for a few recordings. The 1990s saw the addition of Charlie Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra to his schedule. Priester was co-leader with drummer Jimmy Bennington on 'Portraits and Silhouettes' which received an Honorable Mention in All About Jazz New York's 'Best Recordings of 2007', which culminated with the two musicians appearing at the 30th Annual Chicago Jazz Festival. Priester also performs on the album Monoliths & Dimensions, by the drone metal band Sunn 0))), released in May 2009. His major contributions were to the final track of the album, "Alice," a tribute to Alice Coltrane.
In addition to teaching and touring, Priester continues to record albums under his own name. He released Hints on Light and Shadow in 1997 and followed it in 2002 with In Deep End Dance.
As of the beginning of 2022, Julian hosted listening sessions early on Wednesday evenings in Seattle as a part of a Jazz Fellowship, at Vermillion Art Gallery and Bar.

Discography

As leader or co-leader

Compilations

As sideman

With Jane Ira BloomThe Nearness
With Anthony BraxtonComposition No. 96
With Donald ByrdFancy Free,
With Jay ClaytonLive at Jazz Alley
With John ColtraneAfrica/Brass,
With Duke EllingtonNew Orleans Suite The Intimate Ellington Up in Duke's Workshop
With Robben FordBlues Connotation City Life
With David Friesen, Eddie Moore, Jim Pepper, and Mal WaldronRemembering the Moment
With Red GarlandSo Long Blues Strike Up the Band
With Jerry GranelliKoputai One Day at a Time A Song I Thought I Heard Buddy Sing Another Place
With Johnny GriffinThe Little Giant
With George GruntzTheatre
With Carolyn GrayeCarolyn Graye
With Charlie HadenHelium Tears
With Herbie HancockMwandishi Crossings Sextant
With David HaneyCaramel Topped Terrier
With Billy HarperCapra Black
With Eddie HendersonSunburst Heritage Comin' Through Mahal
With Andrew HillPassing Ships
With Dave HollandJumpin' In Seeds of Time
With Wayne Horvitz4+1 Ensemble From a Window
With Freddie HubbardHub Cap
With Bobbi HumphreyFancy Dancer
With Philly Joe JonesBlues for Dracula Showcase
With Clifford JordanThese are My Roots: Clifford Jordan Plays Leadbelly Soul Fountain In the World Masters from Different Worlds with Ran BlakeThe Mellow Side of Clifford Jordan
With Eyvind KangVisible Breath
With Azar LawrenceBridge into the New Age
With Abbey Lincoln
With Booker LittleOut Front Booker Little and Friend
With Herbie MannImpressions of the Middle East
With Pat MethenyMove to the Groove
With Blue MitchellSmooth as the Wind Boss Horn Heads Up!
With Lee MorganSonic Boom
With Duke PearsonIntroducing Duke Pearson's Big Band
With Buddy RichRich Versus Roach
With Sam RiversDimensions & Extensions
With Max RoachThe Many Sides of Max Quiet as It's Kept Moon Faced and Starry Eyed Long as You're Living Parisian Sketches We Insist!, Percussion Bitter Sweet Max Roach and Friends Vol. 2 It's Time
With Paul SchutzeSite Anubis
With Lonnie SmithTurning Point
With Sunn O)))Monoliths & Dimensions
With Sun RaSuper-Sonic Jazz Jazz by Sun Ra Sound of Joy Jazz in Silhouette Angels and Demons at Play Lanquidity Blue Delight Purple Night Somewhere Else Second Star to the Right: Salute to Walt Disney
With Cal Tjader
With Stanley TurrentineThe Spoiler A Bluish Bag
With McCoy TynerTender Moments
With Dinah WashingtonDinah Washington Sings Fats Waller Dinah Sings Bessie Smith - reissued as The Bessie Smith Songbook
With Reggie WorkmanSummit Conference