Champian Fulton (born September 12, 1985) is an American jazz singer and pianist.
Career
Early years
Champian Fulton was born in
Norman, Oklahoma, in 1985.[1] Her father, Stephen Fulton, was a jazz trumpeter who was often visited by musician friends such as
Clark Terry and
Major Holley. At the age of five, she took piano lessons from her grandmother. After trying trumpet and drums, she returned to piano and singing. When her father was hired to run the Clark Terry Institute for Jazz Studies, the family moved to Iowa. She went to jazz summer camp, where she founded the Little Jazz Quintet. One of their performances was Clark Terry's seventy-fifth birthday party.[2]
Fulton graduated from high school in 2003, then attended
State University of New York at Purchase, where she studied with trumpeter
Jon Faddis.[4] After graduating, she moved to New York City to pursue a career as a pianist and vocalist.[3]
She has worked with the
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the Litchfield Jazz Camp,[7] and
Rutgers University. In late 2015, she joined the faculty of the Jazz Arts Academy (in association with the Count Basie Theatre Education Department) to offer workshops in jazz vocals and jazz piano during the summer.
Rising Star – Female Vocalist, Critics' Poll, Down Beat magazine, 2014[10]
Female Vocalist of the Year, Hot House Jazz Fan Decision Awards, 2017 [11]
Female Vocalist of the Year, NYC Readers Awards sponsored by Hot House Jazz Magazine & JazzMobile, 2019 [12]
Pianist of the Year, NYC Readers Awards sponsored by Hot House Jazz Magazine & JazzMobile, 2019 [12]
Performs in the Emmy Nominated show, "Take Me Back to Manhattan" (produced by Jazz at the Ballroom and filmed at the Carlyle Hotel), NY Emmy Awards 2022 [citation needed]