artist info

The Evening:

Emcee'd by Christian McBride

Performances will begin at 7:30 with:

The Fellowship ‘Ceptet: Dawn Clement (piano), Trevor Ford (bass), Jay Thomas (tenor), Hans Teuber (alto), Beserat Tafesse (trombone), Xavier Lecouturier (drums) and Thomas Marriott (trumpet).

Followed by:

Priester’s Cue: Dawn Clement (piano), Geoff Harper (bass) Byron Vannoy (drums).

Special guests (with Priester’s Cue): Steve Moore (trombone), Johnaye Kendrick (vocals).

Final tune with the ‘Ceptet and guests.

Priester’s Cue is Julian’s most current working band. The Fellowship ‘Ceptet is a program of Seattle Jazz Fellowship where Julian has been Artist In Residence since 2021. Each band will play compositions by Julian Priester.

Julian Priester

Julian is one of the great trombonists. He’s worked many jazz legends including Sun Ra and Muddy Waters, Dinah Washington, Lionel Hampton, Max Roach, John Coltrane, Duke Ellington, Herbie Hancock, Dave Holland, Sam Rivers. In addition to being a distinct soloist and valued sideman, he’s also a bandleader and composer of note.

A native of Chicago, Julian is a graduate of the famous DuSable High School. While a teenager, he worked in Sun Ra’s experimental band, and walked onto the stages of South Side blues clubs to play with Bo Diddley and Muddy Waters. In 1958 he moved to New York, toured with Lionel Hampton and Dinah Washington, then spent four years as a front-line player with Max Roach. During the fertile New York jazz scene of the Sixties, he participated in some of the most important recordings of the era, including John Coltrane’s “Africa Brass,” Booker Little’s “Out Front,” and Max Roach’s “Freedom Now – We Insist.” Julian also recorded two albums for Riverside as a leader.

When Max Roach disbanded in 1964, Julian worked in a variety of settings, including a stint with Ray Charles, work in the house band of Chess Records where he recorded “Rescue Me” with Fontella Bass, and a job in the pit orchestra for the Broadway show “Promises, Promises.” Duke Ellington called and he spent six months in 1970 learning from the master. His career took a new spin when he joined Herbie Hancock’s “Mwandishi” band – a bold mixture of group improvisation and electronics. During the 70s, he recorded the highly-regarded “Love, Love” and “Polarization” albums for ECM Records.

In 1979, Julian moved to Seattle to take a position of Professor of Jazz Trombone at Cornish College of the Arts. In a career spanning seven decades, Julian has spent more thanfour of them in Seattle, where he’s been an important presence in the community. Through both his playing and teaching, he has imparted his vast knowledge to new generations of students and listeners. Julian has been the Artist in Residence of the Seattle Jazz Fellowship since its inception. In their series of Listening Sessions, Julian has regaled the audience with tales of recording some of the most important albums in jazz. He’s dedicated to passing the jazz tradition forward.