Musician.

Speaker.

Writer.

Julian Davis Reid (M.Div., Candler School of Theology) is an artist-theologian from Chicago who uses words and music to invite us into the restful lives we were created to live. A musician, speaker, and writer, Julian is the founder of the ministry Notes of Rest®, which invites the weary to practice God’s gifts of rest played through the Bible and Black music. Julian also has musical numerous releases out with several projects, including his own ensemble Circle of Trust, his jazz-electronic fusion group The JuJu Exchange (with Nico Segal & Nova Zaii), and his collaborative work with saxophonist Isaiah Collier. His most recent release is his EP entitled Candid, which narrates from the piano his coming-of-age as a solo artist. Julian has performed at the Montreal Jazz Fest, The Cleveland Orchestra’s Severance Hall, Lollapalooza, and the Berlin Jazz Fest, and he has worked or performed with Chance the Rapper, Jamila Woods, Tank and the Bangas, Derrick Hodge, Andrew Bird, and Jennifer Hudson. He is a Fellow of Theological Education Between the Times and consults with the boutique consultancy Fearless Dialogues. Julian writes about faith, music, Blackness, and rest on his Substack “The Notes of Rest Fellowship,” and his work has been covered in Forbes, Sojourners, Billboard, and Downbeat. He and his wife Carmen live in Chicago with their daughter Lydia.