Tia Fuller (born March 27, 1976) is an American saxophonist, composer, and educator, and a member of the all-female band touring with

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

. Fuller is currently a faculty member in the ensembles department at

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

. Fuller was a Featured Jazz Musician in

Pixar Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californi ...

's full length computer-animated feature ''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 Angela Evelyn Bassett (born August 16, 1958) is an American actress. She had her breakthrough with her portrayal of singer Tina Turner in the biopic ''What's Love Got to Do with It'' (1993), which garnered her a nomination for the Academy Award ...

Background

Fuller was born in

Aurora, Colorado Aurora (, ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, Arapahoe, Adams County, Colorado, Adams, and Douglas County, Colorado, Douglas List of counties in Colorado, ...

to jazz musicians Fred and Elthopia Fuller. Her father, Fred, plays bass and her mother, Elthopia, sings. Her sister, Shamie, is also a jazz musician and educator. She grew up listening to her parents rehearse in the basement of their home, as well as to the music of

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of br ...

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "Jazz royalty, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine ...

and

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

. Fuller began playing saxophone at Gateway High School, after which she continued her musical education at

Spelman College Spelman College is a private, historically black, women's liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. It is part of the Atlanta University Center academic consortium in Atlanta. Founded in 1881 as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, Spelman re ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, under the tutelage of Joseph Jennings. While there she performed with

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

and in Atlanta's jazz clubs. In 1998, she graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in music, and later went on to complete her master's degree in jazz pedagogy and performance from the

University of Colorado at Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sys ...

Career

Fuller has regularly performed with a number of jazz artists, including

Esperanza Spalding Esperanza Emily Spalding (born October 18, 1984) is an American bassist, singer, songwriter, and composer. Her accolades include five Grammy Awards, a Boston Music Award, and a Soul Train Music Award. A native of Portland, Oregon, Spalding be ...

Terri Lyne Carrington Terri Lyne Carrington (born August 4, 1965) is an American jazz drummer, composer, producer, and educator. She has played with Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Clark Terry, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Joe Sample, Al Jarreau, Yellowjackets, and ma ...

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Septet, the T.S. Monk Septet, the

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Jazz Orchestra, the

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Septet, the Sean Jones Quintet and the Nancy Wilson Jazz Orchestra. Fuller has led a quartet which includes

Shamie Royston Chamois leather () is a type of porous leather, traditionally the skin of the chamois (''Rupicapra rupicapra''), a type of European mountain goat, but today made almost exclusively from the flesh split of a sheepskin. United Kingdom The Brit ...

on piano,

Kim Thompson Kim Thompson (September 25, 1956 – June 19, 2013) was an American comic book editor, translator, and publisher, best known as vice president and co-publisher of Seattle-based Fantagraphics Books. Along with co-publisher Gary Groth, Thomps ...

on drums, and

Miriam Sullivan Miriam ( he, מִרְיָם ''Mīryām'', lit. 'Rebellion') is described in the Hebrew Bible as the daughter of Amram and Jochebed, and the older sister of Moses and Aaron. She was a prophetess and first appears in the Book of Exodus. The Tora ...

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

. 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 Roy Owen Haynes (born March 13, 1925) is an American jazz drummer. He is among the most recorded drummers in jazz. In a career lasting over 80 years, he has played swing, bebop, jazz fusion, avant-garde jazz and is considered a pioneer of jazz ...

Jon Batiste Jonathan Michael Batiste (born November 11, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and television personality. He has recorded and performed with artists in various genres of music (Stevie Wonder, Prince, Willie Nelson, ...

Linda May Han Oh Linda May Han Oh (born 25 August 1984) is an Australian jazz bassist and composer. Biography Oh was raised in Western Australia. When she was 11, she started to play the clarinet and at the age of 13 bassoon. She went to Churchlands Senior ...

and

Marcus Gilmore Marcus Gilmore (born October 10, 1986) is an American drummer. In 2009, ''New York Times'' critic Ben Ratliff included Gilmore in his list of drummers who are "finding new ways to look at the drum set, and at jazz itself", saying, "he created th ...

for

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's movie ''

Soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

''. Fuller was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for her 2019 album

Diamond Cut A diamond cut is a style or design guide used when shaping a diamond for polishing such as the brilliant cut. Cut does not refer to shape (pear, oval), but the symmetry, proportioning and polish of a diamond. The cut of a diamond greatly affects ...

She was artist in residence at the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival. She teaches at

Education

In 1998, Fuller graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in music from

, and went on to obtain a master's degree in jazz pedagogy and performance from the

Discography

As leader

* ''Pillar of Strength'' (Wambui, 2005) * ''Healing Space'' (

Mack Avenue Mack Avenue Records is an independent record label in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. Background Mack Avenue was founded in 1999 by Gretchen Carhartt Valade, a jazz fan and chair of the American apparel company Carhartt. The company is a sponsor ...

, 2007) * ''Decisive Steps'' (Mack Avenue, 2010) * ''Angelic Warrior'' (Mack Avenue, 2012) *

(Mack Avenue, 2018)

Compilations

* ''It's Christmas on Mack Avenue'' (Mack Avenue, 2014)

As sideman

;with

Joe Budden Joseph Anthony Budden II (born August 31, 1980) is an American media personality and former rapper. He first gained recognition as a rapper with his 2003 top 40 single " Pump It Up" and as a member of the hip hop supergroup Slaughterhouse. In ...

* ''

'' (

Def Jam Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...

, 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 ''Turned to Blue'' is the fifty-second and final studio album by American jazz singer Nancy Wilson. It was released in 2006 through MCG Jazz. The title track is a poem written by Maya Angelou. The album won Best Jazz Vocal Album at the 49th Annu ...

'' (MCG Jazz, 2006)

References

External links

*
Mack Avenue Artist Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuller, Tia American bandleaders American session musicians Living people 1976 births Spelman College alumni People from Aurora, Colorado Musicians from Jersey City, New Jersey American women jazz musicians African-American jazz musicians Jazz musicians from Colorado 21st-century American saxophonists Women jazz saxophonists 21st-century American women musicians Mack Avenue Records artists Berklee College of Music faculty African-American women musicians