The career of trombone legend Julian Priester has included contributions to jazz, blues, as well as Latin jazz, over the practically the last half century. Between the early 1950s and through the 1970s, he worked with such notables as Duke Ellington, Herbie Hancock, Sun Ra, McCoy Tyner, Max Roach, Lionel Hampton, Dinah Washington, Muddy Waters, and Bo Diddley. In the 1980s, he joined the faculty of Cornish College in Seattle, Washington, and during that decade his collaborators included those with Sun Ra (a second tour of duty) and Clifford Jordan. At that time he also toured extensively with Dave Holland's Quintet, and began his own group, Quartett, whose debut recording No Secrets was critically praised.

More recently, Julian Priester has worked with Charlie Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra, with which he toured Europe, Lester Bowie's New York Organ Ensemble. As a composer he has contributed to recordings by Reggie Workman, including his Summit Conference, and by Jerry Granelli. His newest release is Hints on Light and Shadow, with Sam Rivers and Tucker Martine. During his years at Cornish College, he has immeasurably enriched the Seattle music scene.