Tia Fuller (born March 27, 1976) is an American saxophonist, composer, and educator, and a member of the all-female band touring with Beyoncé. Fuller is currently a faculty member in the ensembles department at Berklee College of Music.[1] Fuller was a Featured Jazz Musician in Pixar's animated film Soul. For the film Fuller plays an alto saxophone with a Vandoren mouthpiece for the character Dorothea Williams. The appearance of Dorothea Williams is influenced by Fuller, and the character's speaking lines are voiced by Angela Bassett.[2]
Tia Fuller | |
|---|---|
 Tia Fuller, Moers Festival 2011 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | March 27, 1976 Aurora, Colorado, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer, educator |
| Instrument | Saxophone |
| Labels | Mack Avenue |
| Website | www.tiafuller.com |
Background
editFuller was born in Aurora, Colorado to jazz musicians Fred and Elthopia Fuller.[3] Her father, Fred, plays bass and her mother, Ethiopia, sings. She grew up playing classical piano at the age of three and listening to her parents rehearse in the basement of their home, as well as to the music of John Coltrane, Sarah Vaughan and Charlie Parker. She studied classical piano for 10 years, started playing the flute at the age of nine, and took up the saxophone and became interested in jazz in high school.[3] Her sister, Shamie Royston, is a jazz pianist and a regular member of Fuller's ensemble.[4]
Fuller began playing saxophone at Gateway High School, after which she continued her musical education at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, under the tutelage of Joseph Jennings.[5] While at Spelman, she performed with Ray Charles.[6] In 1998, she graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music, and later went on to complete a Master's in Music, Jazz Pedagogy, and Performance in 2000 from the University of Colorado at Boulder.[5]
Career
editFuller has regularly performed with a number of jazz artists, including Esperanza Spalding, Terri Lyne Carrington, Ralph Peterson Septet, the T.S. Monk Septet, the Jon Faddis Jazz Orchestra, the Rufus Reid Septet, the Sean Jones Quintet and the Nancy Wilson Jazz Orchestra.
Fuller has led a quartet which includes Shamie Royston on piano, Kim Thompson on drums, and Miriam Sullivan on bass, and with whom she has recorded the albums Pillar of Strength (2005, Wambui), Healing Space (2007, Mack Avenue), and Decisive Steps (2010, Mack Avenue).
In 2006, she was a member of the all-female band touring with Beyoncé.[7][8]
In 2012, she toured with Esperanza Spalding as leader of the Radio Music Society horn section, in which she played saxophone in dialogue with Spalding's scat singing.
In 2019, she recorded with Roy Haynes, Jon Batiste, Linda May Han Oh and Marcus Gilmore for The Walt Disney Company's movie Soul.[2]
Fuller was nominated for a Grammy Award for her 2019 album Diamond Cut,[9] produced by Terri Lyne Carrington, whom she has described as one of her mentors.[10]
She was artist in residence at the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival.[11][12]
She teaches at Berklee College of Music.[13]
Discography
editAs leader
edit- Pillar of Strength (Wambui, 2005)
- Healing Space (Mack Avenue, 2007)
- Decisive Steps (Mack Avenue, 2010)
- Angelic Warrior (Mack Avenue, 2012)
- Diamond Cut (Mack Avenue, 2018)
Compilations
edit- It's Christmas on Mack Avenue (Mack Avenue, 2014)
As sideman
edit- with Joe Budden
- Joe Budden (Def Jam, 2003)
- with Miki Hayama
- Vibrant (Art Union @ Jazz, 2004)
- with Sean Jones
- Eternal Journey (Mack Avenue, 2004)
- Gemini (Mack Avenue, 2005)
- Roots (Mack Avenue, 2006)
- Kaleidoscope (Mack Avenue, 2007)
- with Brad Leali
- Maria Juanez (TCB Music, 2007)
- with Nancy Wilson
- Turned to Blue (MCG Jazz, 2006)
References
edit- ^ "Berklee Ensembles: Latin Jazz, South American Folkloric Music, and More". Berklee College of Music. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
- ^ a b "Berklee Professor Brings Soul Music to Life". Berklee.edu. December 23, 2020.
- ^ a b Cristi, A. A. (November 2, 2022). "Tia Fuller Kicks Off The August Wilson African-American Cultural Center's Uhuru Jazz Series November 12". Broadway World.
- ^ "Shamie Royston Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
- ^ a b "Tia Fuller Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
- ^ "Tia Fuller, Fierce Woman in Jazz, Takes Shot at 1st Grammy". WBUR. January 14, 2019.
- ^ "Beyoncé sax player Tia Fuller lands in SF Bay Area for 3 shows". The Mercury News. June 5, 2019. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
- ^ "Beyoncé and Beyond". Retrieved June 14, 2019.
- ^ "Meet the First-Time GRAMMY Nominee: Tia Fuller on Growth, Artistic Vision & Leading by Example".
- ^ Fuller, Tia (February 10, 2019). "2019 Grammy Awards: Why I'm using my nomination to speak out about sexism in the world of jazz". NBC News.
- ^ Adams, Jordan. "Patti LaBelle Headlines the Eclectic Burlington Discover Jazz Festival". Seven Days. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
- ^ Correspondent, Tom Huntington Arts (May 25, 2019). "Discover Jazz Festival: Fresh sounds abound in FlynnSpace". Rutland Herald. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ "Tia Fuller, Fierce Woman In Jazz, Takes Shot At 1st Grammy". www.wbur.org. January 14, 2019. Retrieved June 14, 2019.