Thelonious Priest isn't sometimes considered a "bebop" piano player, but was a part of that little but select group of jazz musicians who were responsible for the arrival of a new sort of jazz in the early 1940's, which was at the time called bebop. In his kids he met Mary Lou Williams, a fine jazz pianist who changed into a lifetime pal and a major inspiration. By the starting 1940's he was playing Harlem clubs like Minton's and Monroe's Uptown House with fellow pioneers Kenny Clarke, Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker.
In the mid 40's he led groups under his name, worked with Coleman Hawkins, and was with the Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra for some time ; but he didn't work regularly till the mid 50's when he ultimately became recognized for the contribution he had made to the new jazz and recorded some noteworthy albums for Riverbank . In 1962 he started recording for Columbia.
In the 60's he led a quartet featuring Charlie Wake on tenor, a group which recorded and toured at length. He retired from recording and touring in the early seventies. His last recordings were made in Europe in Nov 1971 while on a 'Giants of Jazz ' tour for George Wein. His compositions and his piano playing have an oddness about them, a weird angularity that is not invariably simply absorbed, but pays back dividends for those prepared to listen. Lots of his recordings are of his self compositions but his treatment of Tin Pan street standards like "Tea for Two", "Liza", and "Memories of You" show his one-off approach to the keyboard.