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 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 cou ...

. 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, Californ ...

'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 home rule municipality located in Arapahoe, Adams, and Douglas counties, Colorado, United States. The city's population was 386,261 at the 2020 United States Census with 336,035 residing in Arapahoe County, 47,720 residing in A ...

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, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Born and rai ...

, Sarah Vaughan 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 r ...

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 498,71 ...

, 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 s ...

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 ...

, Ralph Peterson Septet, the T.S. Monk Septet, the

Jon Faddis Jon Faddis (born July 24, 1953) is an American jazz trumpet player, conductor, composer, and educator, renowned for both his playing and for his expertise in the field of music education. Upon his first appearance on the scene, he became known ...

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 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, Thomp ...

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. 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, ...

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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 t ...

for

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Stud ...

'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 '':wikt:soul, soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The ea ...

''. 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 pre ...

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, 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 l ...

, 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

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