Tia Fuller bio

When Grammy-nominated recording artist, composer, educator, and bandleader Tia Fuller picks up her saxophone, something amazing happens. She currently balances the worlds of performance and higher education, fulfilling a demanding schedule as both a touring and recording artist, and a full-time professor at Boston’s Berklee College of Music.

Her touring credits include being a member of Beyoncé’s all-women band, with which she appeared on TODAY, Good Morning America, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, telecasts of the Grammy and World Music awards, and many others. In addition, Fuller has recorded five full-length projects with her quartet for the Mack Avenue label. Her Grammy-nominated album Diamond Cut was produced by Terri Lyne Carrington, Dave Holland, and Jack DeJohnette. Later this spring, she will release a new duo album titled Dynasty with her sister, pianist Shamie Fuller-Royston. Together, they will pay homage to Fuller Sound, the band led by their parents Fred and Elthopia Fuller.

In 2020, Fuller served as the sound behind the music of animated character Dorothea Williams, the sassy saxophonist (voiced by Angela Bassett) in the blockbuster Pixar film Soul. She has also been featured in J.Jill’s “Rhythm and Blues” campaign, as part of Vanity Fair’s “Women in Jazz,” and on the covers of DownBeat and JazzTimes magazines, among others. For NBC News, she authored an opinion piece about sexism in jazz.

In addition, Fuller has received numerous awards and marks of distinction, including wins in the JazzTimes and DownBeat critics polls, the Benny Golson Award from Howard University, the University of Colorado Boulder’s Distinguished Alumni Award, and an artist residency at the 2018 Monterey Jazz Festival.

As a Berklee professor, Fuller shares her expertise with more than 70 students each week, directing the Diamond Cut Big Band and GenNext All-Stars. Additionally, she produces and directs large ensembles that focus on the music of Michael Jackson, Beyoncé, Bruno Mars, and Ariana Grande, reflecting industry-leading tour and production standards while highlighting collaboration across the college. Also at Berklee, she is founder of the Berklee-Spelman Exchange Program, creative director of the City Music High School Academy, and artist-in-residence with the Berklee Global Jazz Institute—all while leading new initiatives.

As an artist, performer, and teacher, Fuller believes that she is fulfilling her purpose here on this earth, which is to “serve as a light for others.”