Julian Priester Pepo Mtoto

Julian Priester is an American jazz trombone player who was born in Chicago in 1935 and whilst still a teenager had the opportunity to learn his craft alongside top jazz and blues musicians such as Sonny Stitt, Muddy Waters and Bo Diddley. His first break came during the 1950s when he was invited to join Sun Ra's big band with whom he recorded a number of albums. As his reputation began to grow amongst the jazz community Priester found a ready stream of top jazz artists eager to benefit from his talents and found gigs with big names such as Lionel Hampton, Max Roach, Dinah Washington and Philly Joe Jones.

Throughout the 1960s he continued to play with top level jazz performers and his name can be found in the credits of countless jazz albums from the era. After playing with Herbie Hancock's jazz fusion ensemble in the early 1970s, Priester relocated to the west coast where he continued to play and record. He also pursued a career teaching jazz composition and performance at Seattle's Cornish College of the Arts, a post he held until 2011. As a leader or co-leader he has recorded eleven albums, the most recent of which has been 'Blue Stride' released in 2012.