- Julian Priester
Julian Priester (born
29 June ,1935 inChicago ) is an Americanjazz trombonist and composerHe has played with many artists including
Sun Ra ,Max Roach ,Duke Ellington ,John Coltrane andHerbie Hancock .Biography
Priester attended Chicago's
DuSable High School , where he studied underWalter Dyett . In his teens he played withblues andR&B artists such asMuddy Waters ,Dinah Washington , andBo Diddley , and had the opportunity to jam with jazz players like Max Roach,trumpet erClifford Brown , andsaxophonist 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 withLionel Hampton . In 1958 he settled inNew York and joined the band of drummerMax 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 , andSam 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 joinpianist 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 ofCornish College of the Arts in Seattle, where he teaches jazz composition, performance, and history. In the 1980s he became a member of theDave Holland quintet and also returned to Sun Ra's band; the 1990s saw the addition of Charlie Haden'sLiberation Music Orchestra to his schedule. Priester was recently co-leader with drummerJimmy 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.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 andTucker 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, encompassingR&B ,bebop ,hard bop , and progressive andfree jazz .External links
* [http://www.julianpriester.com/ Official Website of Julian Priester]
* [http://www.mp3.com/julian-priester/artists/6251/biography.html Biography from mp3.com]
* [http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?review_id=9557 "All About Jazz" article]
* [http://www.view.com/priester-bio.html Biography from Postcard Records]
* [http://cornish.edu/ Cornish College for the Arts]
* [http://www.cdbaby.com/benningtonpriester/ Jimmy Bennington/Julian Priester "Portraits and Silhouettes" ThatSwan! Records 1005]
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