by Matt CollarSaxophonist Tia Fuller is an expressive, forward-thinking musician with a bent toward post-bop and soulful, expansive jazz. Interested in music from a young age, Fuller's piano and flute studies began around age three and culminated in her earning a bachelor's degree in music from Spelman College in the '90s. Later, Fuller sought her masters degree in jazz pedagogy from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Subsequently, she found performance opportunities with a bevy of name artists and ensembles, such as Charles Fambrough, Mickey Roker, Ralph Peterson, T.S. Monk, Rufus Reid, and others -- including the Gerald Wilson Orchestra and the Duke Ellington Orchestra. She released her debut album, Healing Space, on Mack Avenue in 2007.