Long-time Cornish faculty member and world-renowned Jazz trombonist Julian Priester was recently honored by the Pacific Northwest Chapter of The Recording Academy. Best known for granting GRAMMY Awards, The Recording Academy (formally known as the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences) recognized Julian Priester for “outstanding achievements and contributions that have significantly enriched the music community and our community at-large.”
“Julian Priester knows how to play one note — the right one,” Herbie Hancock said (as quoted by The Seattle Times) before he presented Priester with his award during the honors ceremony on Saturday, September 24th. Priester then joined Hancock onstage to perform a captivating rendition of “Maiden Voyage.” Priester had played trombone in Hancock’s sextet in the early ‘70s.
Julian Priester has been on the music faculty of Cornish College for the Arts since 1979, where he teaches jazz composition, improvisation, performance, and history. “For the past 25 years Julian has been an essential member of the Cornish Music Department,” says Department Chair Carol Shiffman. “He has been an invaluable asset to the college, serving as both as an empathetic mentor to his students, and as a wonderful role model as a continually evolving, innovating musician. His career, both at the College and in the music community at large, has been one of heartfelt dedication, commitment and impact. We are all truly delighted that Julian has received this well-deserved honor.”
Julian Priester’s career spans five decades, during which he has been involved in some of the most groundbreaking and important contemporary music to date, making contributions to jazz, blues, and Latin jazz. Enhancing the colors and textures of his instrument with varied timbre, Priester possesses a definitive style all his own. Beginning with Chicago’s thriving blues and R&B scene, Priester played with Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters, Lionel Hampton, Dinah Washington, and with Sun Ra’s early groups in the mid-50’s. Priester continued to build a name in New York as a sideman on many Blue Note recordings, with such notable musicians as Max Roach, Ray Charles, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard and Art Blakey. Always involved with adventurous, boundary pushing music, Julian went onto work with Sam Rivers, John Coltrane’s Africa/Brass ensemble, Duke Ellington’s Big Band and Herbie Hancock’s Sextet. He has also played with Dave Holland, toured with Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra, worked and recorded with Jane Ira Bloom, Jerry Granelli, and Reggie Workman and Wayne Horvitz’s 4+1 ensemble.
Priester has recorded five albums as a leader, starting in 1958 with Keep Swinging (Riverside) and continuing with Spiritsville (Jazzland) and two ECM recordings, Love Love and Polarization. As the leader of a new quartet filled with overwhelming young talent, Priester continues to push forward with his newest release In Deep End Dance (Conduit Records), voted Record of the Year by Earshot Jazz in 2002.
