Julian Priester and Me…

On the west side of Chicago, all the clubs there featured blues. In high school, I had enough music in me that I wanted to join the jazz band as a pianist, because that was my instrument at the beginning. The routine for the concert band at DuSable High School in Chicago, was that everyone had to play in the concert orchestra. The concert orchestra also had the responsibility for playing at the sports games, mainly football. There was an event in the summer where they would dress the orchestra up in military uniforms, ROTC uniforms, and we would participate in the parade. This is where the change happened, because as a pianist, I was given a glockenspiel. Oh boy, I hated it. I just had to get away from the glockenspiel. So I asked for the trumpet, but there were several other students waiting to play trumpet, and so my instructor gave me a baritone horn. Same fingering as a trumpet, so at one point I could make a conversion over to  the trumpet, after the baritone horn. As it turned out, the mouthpiece used to play the baritone horn, is the exact same mouthpiece used to play the trombone... So now I have the trombone in my hand, I moved into the jazz band. There was no looking back after that.

                       Julian Priester's transition to the trombone

Keep Swingin’ (1960) signed by Julian, Jimmy Heath

Music for me is an emotional language. It stimulates the emotions, and that's what gives it value. It can be peaceful, it can be angry, it could be comical. I think that those players who come up in music like I did, that had a piano in the home, siblings who play music, and a brother who was a jazz fan, I was fortunate to be raised in that environment.

                          Julian Priester

One thing I have to give Sun Ra credit for is to put me in a position where he wouldn't give me much information about the technical aspects about the music he wanted us to play, he would just give it to us and say, "Ok, play." There was no written music there, no charts, but he would have maybe an idea or two. A phrase, and he would build it off that phrase. Then, the rest of the band, John Gilmore, Pat Patrick, Robert Barry, put me in a position where I had to use my ear, and I developed that ability which served me throughout my career.

                        Julian Priester

Spiritsville (1960) signed by Julian

When you get into a band and improvise, in the beginning, you plan the little stuff that you practice, things we learn in the practice room, and we get onstage and play those licks for one or two choruses, and after you're out of ideas... your ear comes into play. You listen to what the general sound is and you identify it as far as the harmonics are concerned, and you react on the spot to the sounds that you are hearing. That's what I got from Sun Ra. That's what served me. It didn't dawn on me when it was happening, but later on, I realized that Sun Ra really left me with a wonderful gift. I already had an ear, but in terms of the proper use of that ear in a performance is different from going to the piano and picking out one phrase that you've heard. You have to create a song.

                         Julian Priester

I think that the trauma of having your mom die when you're nine years old, sends you into a spiral. Emotionally, it changes you. I have so much pain from that experience that I still carry around with me. I think I express it through music. The intensity of the music that I produce, especially in a jazz setting where I can get up in front of the microphone and just play what comes out. I try not to control what is coming out. I just want to play what I feel. I have my ear open and I'm listening to sound, and I adapt to that sound. This served me as a successful model., it is what is so natural to me. All the ingredients are ingrained. The pain is there, the religious fervor is there. I've had to cope with the physical properties, the trombone is not a flute.

Julian Priester

The Little Giant (1959) signed by Julian, Johnny Griffin

Born in Chicago in 1935, the youngest of six siblings in a very musical family, Julian Priester became an influential jazz trombonist and composer. His career is extraordinary, starting when he was eighteen years old and visited the interstellar space with the legendary Sun Ra Arkestra, to his three year tenure with Max Roach, during which they recorded the civil rights classic We Insist!, to his work with John Coltrane on Africa/Brass, and his stint with Duke Ellington's band including work on the New Orleans Suite in 1971. Julian was also an important part of the Herbie Hancock recordings Mwandishi ("composer" in Swahili), The Crossing, and Sextant, three albums which combined elements of funk, jazz, rock and soul in an intoxicating stew which helped usher in the jazz fusion genre. In the history of jazz, there is really no one comparable to how versatile and prolific Julian Priester has been, and, yet, he has remained relatively unknown. The slings and arrows, the joys and perils, the anonymity of a sideman! Julian has lived it.

Hub Cap (1961) signed by Julian, Freddie Hubbard, Jimmy Heath

His journey began in his hometown, Chicago, a cauldron of blues in the 1940s and 1950s. As Julian remembered, "I loved music so much that I didn't care about making money, I just wanted to play. I'd play for free. I would invade somebody else's gig, to get a chance to play some! That's when I came into contact with Muddy Waters and Bo Diddley, just going from club to club, walking in with my horn." Such fearlessness would prove to be a great strength in the development of Julian's burgeoning talents.

Rich versus Roach (1959) signed by Julian, Max Roach, Stanley Turrentine, Phil Woods

Likewise, his short tenure on baritone saxophone in high school afforded Julian an invaluable insight, "Once I graduated from high school, I was ready for the big time in my mind. Without being afraid, I had a chip on my shoulder, especially towards saxophone players. Saxophone players get to the microphone and play a hundred choruses, and I'm standing there waiting. So I developed a technique where I would beat them to the microphone. I kind of carried that attitude with me for my whole career, just the aggressiveness. It really worked in my favor." It takes a savvy and sturdy musician to beat a sly saxophonist at his own game, but Julian had not only the acumen, he had the outstanding chops as well.

Going on the road and recording with Sun Ra in 1953 led to other opportunities, and Julian moved to New York City in 1959, working with Philly Joe Jones and Max Roach, vastly talented drummers with impeccable musicianship and flawless pedigrees. Julian recalled, "When I arrived in New York, I went to the Five Spot where Thelonious Monk was performing, and in his band, Johnny Griffin was playing saxophone. Johnny is from Chicago. Johnny introduced me to Orrin Keepnews of Riverside Records where he was recording for the label at that time. Things just mushroomed from there." This led to Julian's first two albums as a leader in 1960.

Julian recalled, “Orrin Keepnews was a gem. He helped introduce me to the musical community and gave me the opportunity to record. I credit him with giving me my start. I was the youngest working there and I was just in awe of Philly Joe Jones, Chet Baker, and Kenny Dorham... my ego was blown in the presence of those players, they were on another level. I was young and clean, not exposed to the other side of “the jazz life” that involves alcohol and drugs, whereas everyone of those gentlemen were. They were veterans. There was one incident that occurred there that stands out. Philly Joe Jones and Chet Baker were observed on the corner of 125th and 7th Avenue, selling Riverside records out of boxes taken from the shipping department. I’m chuckling because as serious as that incident is, because of the nature of the individuals, they were brilliant artists, they weren’t punished. The police were not brought in on the theft, which is what it was. They sold the albums in Harlem to get drugs. That was the jazz life. A lot of the younger musicians, those of my age, felt that using drugs was a requirement in order to play the brilliant music that was being played by those older musician addicts whose music was beyond the ordinary. The thought was to be as great as our heroes, that we had to use drugs. That was a decision that I had to always deal with, as far as how I wanted to live my life.” Fortunately, though Julian dabbled, he was able to remain disciplined and, for the next decade plus, he was an important contributor and sideman to recordings by Art Blakey, John Coltrane, Johnny Griffin, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Blue Mitchell, Stanley Turrentine, McCoy Tyner and so many other artists.   

The Big Soul Band (1960) signed by Julian, Johnny Griffin, Bob Cranshaw, Harold Mabern, Norman Simmons, Clark Terry

In 1979, Julian accepted an offer to teach at the Cornish College Of The Arts in Seattle where he taught jazz composition and history until his retirement in 2011. Julian expressed some reservations about his time in the Pacific Northwest, "I've discovered that Seattle has a lot going on for it, a great place for families, the education system, everything is good to raise a family here. But once you've done that, it's very lonely. It's very little." Nonetheless, Julian continues to record and tour (albeit infrequently) and I was fortunate to see Julian Priester headline a show at the Hotel Kitano in New York City in October 2018.

An intimate room with less than seventy-five seats, the Hotel Kitano has been hosting jazz shows for many years. For this gig, Julian was showcasing the music of Herbie Nichols, a wonderfully inventive pianist and composer who died far too young from leukemia in 1963, and has seen a well deserved rekindling of interest and sponsorship in his jazz compositions. Although Herbie only recorded twenty-four songs prior to his untimely passing, he wrote over two-hundred compositions, most famously "Serenade" which Billie Holiday retitled "Lady Sings The Blues" to which she added the biting, forlorn autobiographical lyrics.

We Insist! (1960) signed by Julian, Max Roach, Abbey Lincoln

At the Kitano, Julian was a spry eighty-four year old who commanded the stage, and was joined by his cohorts, pianist David Haney, bassist Adam Lane and drummer extraordinaire Andrew Cyrille. Highlights from the Herbie Nichols songbook included "Ina" which was done as a waltz, "Twelve Bars" with pianist David Haney tossing off discordant Monk-like blues fills, and "Jamaica", which started as a spoken word letter written by bassist Steve Swallow that David Haney recited which recounted a trip to Jamaica where they were hired to play traditional Dixieland jazz, probably the most parochial of all jazz forms. Instead, Julian and his friends decided to play an avant-garde deconstruction of Dixieland which caused the patrons to flee the venue. Every single patron. Indeed, it was a desecration supreme! I only wish that tapes exist of that performance. The song "Jamaica" lived up to its name with loping rhythms and syncopated beats supplied by the crisp interplay between Andrew Cyrille and bassist Adam Lane, an island "no pressure" vibe for sure!

Showcase (1959) signed by Julian

After the show, it was time for a visit with Julian. He was very kind, if a bit taciturn, as he signed the vinyl. When he saw The Big Soul Band, he brightened, "Oh, that's the Chicgo skyline, that's where I'm from. And you got Norman Simmons? He's an old friend from Chicago, too." As he cradled Showcase, "I love this album, it's one of my favorites. Philly Joe was just great." Indeed, it is a showcase for the broad talents of Philly Joe, Pepper Adams, Blue Mitchell and Sonny Clark, all accomplished jazz men. Interestingly, Julian contributed two compositions to the album, including the first track, "Battery Blues", a soulful bluesy, up tempo shuffle, an impressive contribution for a (then) twenty-four year old sideman. When he signed Little Giant, he mentioned, "You know, Johnny really helped me get started, another great Chicago friend." I thanked Julian for his time, his Chicago friends, and especially his music.

A monstrously talented musician, though unknown, Julian Priester has graced so many important recordings across many genres. What a legacy, Long may he play!

Blues For Dracula (1958) signed by Julian, Tommy Flanagan, Johnny Griffin

Choice Julian Priester cuts (per BKs request)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUA2JF738xU

Live in France, 1960 with Max Roach, Tommy and Stanley Turrentine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67a9VODYdtc

“Blue Stride” Spiritsville 1960

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8gNe5hHLS4

“Julian’s Tune” Keep Swingin’ 1960

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEtCOGTKFSY

“Battery Blues” Showcase (1959) with Philly Joe Jones

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqklI4Kgues

“Tune Up” Blues For Dracula (1958) with Philly Joe Jones

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqbJCFvZP2Y

“Just Friends “

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lTimyz9T7k

Mwandishi live in 1971, Julian, Herbie Hancock, Buster Williams, Billy Hart, etc