On Tour with Beyoncé
Sometimes you just have to cut the line.
That’s what saxophonist Tia Fuller(MMus’00) was thinking outside a2006 audition for Beyoncé’s all-femaletouring band.
Fuller was then rehearsing her ownalbum also; time was precious. The oddswere long and the audition line wrappedaround the corner.
“I’m not waiting eight hours,”she thought.
Talking with someone she knew,Fuller, then 30, politely finagled her wayinto the line without a ripple.
Good thing, too: She was calledback for another performance andeventually got a ring from Beyoncé’smusic director.
“Beyoncé specifically asked for you,”she told Fuller.
Narrowed to 150 candidates from5,000, Fuller was among 10 musicianswho made the final cut.
As an active member of Beyonce’s bandfrom 2006-2010, she toured the world foreight months of the year and rehearsedfor three months.
“We went to every continentexcept Antarctica!”said Fuller, who grew upin Aurora, Colo., and beganplaying classical pianoat age 3, adding flute andsaxophone before she wasa teenager.
While touring withBeyoncé, Fuller foundedthe Tia Fuller Quartet inNew York.
“Nothing lasts forever,so I wanted to remainvisible on the jazzscene with my quartet,”she said.
When Beyoncé’s bandwent on break in late2010, Fuller took her ownact on the road. In time,she also planted a foot inthe academy, acceptinga full-time professorshipteaching in Boston.
In one 24-hour period inJanuary 2013, she receiveda teaching offer fromBerklee College of Music— and a call from Beyoncéto rejoin the band.
“After lots of prayer, I said ‘Yes’ toBerklee and ‘No’ to Beyoncé,” saidFuller, who teaches in the ensembledepartment. “At Berklee, it’s flexible soI can tour, play, stay visible and directeight different ensembles.”
By now, she’s got four albums of herown, most recently Angelic Warrior.
“I merged what I’d learned fromBeyoncé about marketing and sequencinga show into creating my own story,”she said. “I now have an idea abouthow to integrate R&B into the jazzworld, constantly tailor-making setlists for different audiences.”
Her biggest challenge is balancingher teaching and touring schedulewhile starting a business, a bookingagency called Elthopia Productions.
“I need to maintain a balance ineverything and not feel guilty ifI am taking timefor leisure activities,” she said.
That includes sitting down occasionallyon her couch.
Photo courtesy Tia Fuller