It’s not uncommon for a jazz musician to live from gig to gig. And, as they age, few have access to the insurance and savings they need to get through a medical crisis.
Earlier this month, The Mellon Foundation launched a new fellowship that seeks to bridge these gaps by lending recognition and support to 50 of the nation’s jazz elders over the next four years. The first class of 20 fellows, ranging from age 62 to 94, includes Seattle-based jazz trombonist, composer, and educator Julian Priester.
The new Jazz Legacies Fellowship, founded in partnership with the Jazz Foundation of America (JFA), was created to support seasoned jazz musicians ages 62 or older. Each Jazz Legacies Fellow will be honored with a lifetime achievement award and $100,000 in unrestricted grant money. They will also received tailored support, ranging from production or performance help to legal or financial services.
89-year-old Priester, who’s played a major role in the history and ongoing nurturance of jazz music, is a recipient of this year’s fellowship.
"It’s wonderful. I don’t have the words to describe it, but it fulfills a promise that I received in high school from my band director...,” Priester said. “He went to the third floor window of the band room and opened it and told the students that we could transport ourselves to the building across the street, all we had to do is have positive thinking and believe we could do it. It works.”
To call Priester’s career illustrious would be understatement. Along with releasing several of his own records, he’s toured with Lionel Hampton and Dinah Washington, played in the bands of Sun Ra, Max Roach, and Duke Ellington, and was a member of Herbie Hancock’s fusion-era Mwandishi band. Priester’s also appeared as a sideman on some of jazz’s most influential and beloved records, including Freddie Hubbard’s Hub Cap and John Coltrane’s Africa/Brass.
In 1979, Priester settled down in Seattle to teach at Cornish College of the Arts, and he’s been a fixture in the Seattle jazz scene ever since. In 2021, Priester began a community event series called “Priester Speaks,” in partnership with the Seattle Jazz Fellowship. During these events, Priester plays his records and shares stories about his time in music.
But Priester had to step back from his event series in 2023, when he had three heart attacks. His rehabilitation led to a stack of medical bills. The Seattle community rallied around the jazz legend, contributing nearly $40,000 to a GoFundMe for Priester's rehabilitation and putting together a benefit concert at Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley to help cover the costs of his care.
Today, things are looking up for Priester.
"I’ve made a big recovery. I’m about to turn 90. I can’t complain," he told KNKX. With his fellowship, Priester said he plans to continue to "tell the truth about the music and pass it on."
Along with Priester, the inaugural cohort of fellows includes jazz luminaries like pianist George Cables, vocalist Carmen Lundy, and multi-reedist Roscoe Mitchell. This fellowship anchors The Mellon Foundation’s larger $35 million initiative that aims to strengthen the country’s jazz ecosystem by preserving the artform’s history, culture, and legacy.
