About Brian Priestley
Brian Priestley (born 10 July 1940) is an English jazz writer, pianist, and arranger. == Biography == Priestley was born in Manchester, England. He began studying music at the age of eight. In the 1960s, he earned a degree in modern languages from Leeds University, meanwhile playing in student bands. In the mid-1960s, he began contributing to the jazz press and was responsible for entries in Jazz on Record: A Critical Guide to the First Fifty Years, 1917–67 (1968), edited by Albert McCarthy. In 1969, Priestley moved to London and began playing piano with bands led by Tony Faulkner and Alan Cohen. He helped transcribe Duke Ellington's Black, Brown and Beige and Creole Rhapsody for Cohen and formed his own Special Septet featuring Digby Fairweather and Don Rendell. His compositions include "Blooz for Dook" (published in his 1986 book Jazz Piano 4), "The Whole Thing" (recorded by the National Youth Jazz Orchestra in 1997) and "Jamming with Jools" (a 1998 examination piece for the Associated Board of Royal Schools of Music, based on a live broadcast with Jools Holland). He is also known for his broadcasting work on the BBC as well as London Jazz FM and his weekly series for BBC Radio London, which influenced a renewed interest in jazz in the 1980s. Priestley taught jazz piano at Goldsmiths College from 1977 to 1993 and has taught jazz history for various other universities and conservatoires over the years.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.