Julian Priester
| Julian Priester | |
|---|---|
Julian Priester in 1987
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| Background information | |
| Born | June 29, 1935 |
| Genres | Jazz fusion, jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer |
| Instruments | Trombone, bass trombone, alto trombone |
| Labels | ECM |
Julian Priester (born June 29, 1935 in Chicago) is an American jazz trombone player and composer. He is sometimes credited as Julian Priester Pepo Mtoto.
He has played with many artists including Sun Ra, Max Roach, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane and Herbie Hancock.
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 like 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 joined Dianah Washington. In 1959 he settled in New York and joined the band of 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 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.
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