Julian Priester (born 29 June 1935 in Chicago) is an American jazz trombone player and composer.^[1]

He has played with many artists including Sun Ra, Max Roach, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane and Herbie Hancock.

Biography [link]

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, Dinah Washington, and Bo Diddley, and had the opportunity to jam with jazz players like Max Roach, trumpeter Clifford Brown, and 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. In 1958 he settled in New York and joined the band of drummer Max Roach. While playing in Roach's group Priester also recorded two albums as a leader, Keep Swingin' and Spiritsville for Riverside, both of which came out in 1960.

In 1961 Priester left the Max Roach band, and between 1961 and 1969 appeared as a sideman on albums by Freddie Hubbard, Stanley Turrentine, Blue Mitchell, Art Blakey, Joe Henderson, McCoy Tyner, Johnny Griffin, and Sam Rivers. During that period he also took part in John Coltrane's Africa/Brass ensemble, which played with Coltrane's quartet on the album by the same name recorded in 1961. 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 group in 1973, Priester moved to San Francisco, where he recorded two more albums as a leader: Love, Love in 1974 and 1977's Polarization. In 1979 he joined the faculty of Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, where he teaches jazz composition, performance, and history. In the 1980s he became a member of the Dave Holland quintet and also returned to Sun Ra's band; the 1990s saw the addition of Charlie Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra to his schedule. Priester was recently 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 appearing at the 30th Annual Chicago Jazz Festival.

Julian also performs on the album Monoliths & Dimensions by the avant-metal band SUNN O))), 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 (with Sam Rivers and Tucker Martine) in 1997 and followed it up in 2003 with In Deep End Dance.

Because most of his career was spent touring and recording with artists of greater renown than himself Priester has not received the attention he perhaps deserves. His musical experience spans to the borders of jazz and beyond, encompassing R&B, bebop, hard bop, and progressive and free jazz.

Discography [link]

As leader [link]

• 1960: Keep Swinging
• 1960: Spiritsville
• 1960: Out of This World (Released 2001)^[2]
• 1973: Love, Love (ECM)
• 1977: Polarization (ECM)
• 1997: Hints on Light and Shadow (Postcards Records, with Sam Rivers)
• 2002: In Deep End Dance (Conduit)^[3]

As sideman [link]

This section requires expansion.

With Donald Byrd

• Fancy Free, (1970)

With John Coltrane

• Africa/Brass, (1961)

With David Friesen, Eddie Moore, Jim Pepper, and Mal Waldron

• Remembering the Moment (Soul Note, 1987)

With George Gruntz

• Theatre (ECM, 1983)

With Eddie Henderson

• Sunburst (1975)
• Heritage (1976)

With Andrew Hill

• Passing Ships (1969)

With Dave Holland

• Jumpin' In (ECM, 1984)
• Seeds of Time (ECM, 1985)

With Wayne Horvitz

• 4+1 Ensemble (Intution, 1996 [1998])
• From a Window (Avant, 2000)

With Bobbi Humphrey

• Fancy Dancer (1975)

With Abbey Lincoln

• Straight Ahead (Candid, 1961)

With Booker Little

• Out Front (Candid, 1961)
• Booker Little and Friend (Bethlehem, 1961)

With Blue Mitchell

• Smooth as the Wind (1961)
• Boss Horn (1966)

With Freddie Hubbard

• Hub Cap (Blue Note, 1961)

With Duke Pearson

• Introducing Duke Pearson's Big Band (1967)

With Sam Rivers

• Dimensions & Extensions (1967)

With Max Roach

• We Insist! - Freedom Now, (1960)

With Lonnie Smith

• Turning Point, (1969)

With Sun Ra

• Super-Sonic Jazz (Saturn)
• Jazz by Sun Ra (Saturn)
• Angels and Demons at Play (Saturn)
• Somewhere Else (Rounder 1988-89)

With Stanley Turrentine

• The Spoiler

References [link]

External links [link]

• Official Website of Julian Priester
• Biography from mp3.com
• All About Jazz article
• Biography from Postcard Records
• Cornish College for the Arts
• Jimmy Bennington/Julian Priester "Portraits and Silhouettes" ThatSwan! Records 1005
• Julian Priester & Aaron Alexander "Conversational Music"