Background
Euell, Julian Thomas was born on May 23, 1929 in New York City. Son of Thomas Bass and Helen Lillian (Adams) Euell.
Euell, Julian Thomas was born on May 23, 1929 in New York City. Son of Thomas Bass and Helen Lillian (Adams) Euell.
Bachelor of Science, New York University. Postgraduate, Columbia University. Postgraduate, Julliard School Music.
Postgraduate, George Washington University.
Euell first began playing bass in 1944, and served in the Army from 1945-1947. He played with Sonny Rollins, Jackie McLean, and Art Taylor in 1947 but quit music from 1949 to 1952, working in a post office. He also took classes at New York University between 1951 and 1954, and received a bachelor"s in sociology from Columbia University.
In 1954-1955 he taught there.
His musical associations at the time included Elmo Hope (1952), Benny Harris (1952-1953), Charlie Rouse (1953-1954), Joe Roland (1955), Freddie Redd (1956), Gigi Gryce (1956-1957), and Phineas Newborn (1957). After this he began doing social work in New Jersey and was less active as a performer, though he continued playing with Mal Waldron (1958-1960), Randy Weston (1959), Abbey Lincoln (1959-1960), Charles Mingus, and Kenny Dorham.
In the 1960s Euell worked in Harlem directing an arts program (1962-1966) and then returned to school, receiving a Doctor of Philosophy from George Washington University in 1973. He was Assistant Secretary for Public Service at the Smithsonian from 1970-1982, and was partly responsible for the institution"s increasing interest in jazz history.
From 1983 to 1988 he directed the Oakland Museum History-Arts-Science and from 1991-1995 was director of the Louis Armstrong House.
He returned to semiregular performing in the 1980s and 1990s. Euell"s son is a sociology professor at Ithaca College.
Member NCAAP legal Defense and Education Fund. Member Urban League, Washington, Reading is Fundamental. Served with United States Army, 1946-1947.
Member American Association Museum, National History Society, National Trust History Preservation, American Museum National History, National Society Literature and the Arts Clubs: Rotary (Oakland, California).
Married Dolores Lolita Brown (divorced). Children: Julian, Juliette, Dana, Denise, Simeon. Married Barbara Jean Tiggs, March 5, 1967 (divorced 1966).
1 son, Miles.