Singing jazz standards, big band swing, or R & B – Tia Harris is a versatile vocalist. Everyday her love and passion for music continues to grow. Tia enjoys singing many different genres of music along with writing her own songs. She has been in the music business for over 30 years entertaining all type of audiences.
Born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, Tia was brought up around music her entire life. Tia’s early musical development stemmed from both of her parents being singers and musically involved in the community. Her mother conducted an adult church choir and took Tia to rehearsals with her. She discovered that Tia, who was three years old, knew every song that the choir performed. As a result, Tia became the choir mascot. Throughout her childhood, Tia actively participated in church choirs and ensembles in school. Her singing has never stopped.
Tia’s first professional vocal performance was with Dark Star, a traveling R&B group based out of West Virginia. After touring with Dark Star for two years, she returned to Columbus to sing with Unity, a local, contemporary jazz group. Tia was the lead vocalist for Unity and performed in the Columbus area. Unity opened the concert that featured Pieces of a Dream and Phyllis Hyman at Central State University in 1986. In addition to performing with Unity, Tia assisted the band by creating and writing music for the group. Later, Tia also collaborated with internationally famed, jazz artist, Kim Pensyl.
Inspired to expand her repertoire, Tia started listening and learning the craft of singing jazz standard tunes of legendary vocalists like Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, and Ella Fitzgerald. She sat in with local musicians to further her understanding and performance of jazz standards. Tia took vocal lessons from the legendary Michele Horsefield. During one of her lessons, Tia met guitarist, Stan Smith, who was looking for a vocalist which resulted in her singing with his band. Stan was extremely instrumental in broadening her jazz repertoire that enabled her to become a successful jazz vocalist in the Columbus area.
Stan Smith introduced Tia to Ray Eubanks, Director of the Columbus Jazz Arts Group (JAG), where she became one of the featured vocalists to perform with JAG’s 20-piece big band orchestra for many years. Tia was featured with Jag in several local festivals and events as well as some international performances in Spain and Denmark.
Tia has performed as an independent vocalist singing with several local musicians. In 2008, Tia joined the group Vocal Impact, a four-part harmony, vocal group. This musical group also presented vocal workshops for public schools in the Columbus area. Furthermore, her experiences including singing lead and backup vocals for recordings, commercials, corporate videos, concerts, and projects for events such as private and corporate parties, sports openings, and festivals.
Currently, Tia is the lead vocalist for Canta BRASIL, a Brazilian jazz band. She is also one of the featured vocalists for the Rick Brunetto Big Band. In addition, she performs with the Vernon Hairston Trio, Ray Charles Tribute Band, Sly & The Family Stone Tribute Band, Carl Sally & Friends, and Vaughn Wiester’s Famous Jazz Orchestra along with many other groups. Tia has her own band, The Ranelle Project, comprised of outstanding, talented musicians. The Ranelle Project features Tia singing contemporary jazz standards and songs from her CD, Fly Away With Me.
In the spring of 2015, Tia completed Fly Away With Me, her first CD with original songs that she wrote and produced. The songs reflect the many different styles of music that have impacted her life. The songs from Fly Away With Me exemplify the love, passion, and versatility of music that is instilled in Tia’s heart and soul.
Visit Tia Harris on the Web: www.justtia.com
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