With 12 albums to her credit, Champian is considered one of the most gifted pure Jazz musicians of her generation. Among her multiple awards she was recently named Pianist and Vocalist of 2019 by Hot House Magazine Readers Poll. Today her piano and voice skills are widely recognized by peers and critics as possessing distinction and sophistication. From North America to Europe, Africa to Australia, Champian’s swinging style and charismatic performances have made her a guardian of the legacy of Jazz.
"... a balm for the soul. Champian sounds, always, like she's having the time of her life" ALL ABOUT JAZZ
“Champian is the most gifted pure jazz singer of her generation” DETROIT FREE PRESS
" Fulton is one of the rare pianist/vocalists who excels in both areas and has blossomed with each new release, displaying maturity far beyond her years." THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD
“Dream a Little practically pants with unvarnished vitality…. Fulton has set a high bar for herself since her 2007 debut Champian. In recent years she’s released a series of strong albums, each exposing a different aspect of her music. » JAZZTIMES
“Champian’s vocals reveal an evolving, idiosyncratic singing style: unpredictable, surprising and incredibly elastic. She can be coy in the manner of Blossom Dearie’s little-girl warbling one minute, and sexily un-demure the next, as on “Darn That Dream,” where sighs signal mood changes from dreamy to sensual. » HOT HOUSE JAZZ
"At this point in jazz history, Champian Fulton is the best piano-playing singer and the best pianist who happens to be a singer. With her blend of precision and flair on the keys and her nuanced approach to the mic, she’s been unstoppable lately. Her career validates the old proverb that you get good at what you do: somehow, in between gigs, she manages to find the time to make albums… » NY MUSIC DAILY
Born in Oklahoma, Champian is considered one of the most gifted pure Jazz musicians of her generation. She grew up with music in the home; her mother and father (Jazz trumpeter and educator Stephen Fulton) recognized her fascination with music at an early age. The presence of her father’s musician friends, including Clark Terry and Major Holley, inspired her focus on Jazz. Her first paid musical engagement was with her own band at Clark Terry’s 75th Birthday Party; she was 10 years old. Since then, her piano and voice skills have been recognized by peers and critics as distinctive and sophisticated. This young woman from Oklahoma captivates audiences in New York’s finest Jazz rooms and in concert halls around the world.
A mainstay on the vibrant New York Jazz scene, she has performed with musical royalty such as Lou Donaldson, Frank Wess, Scott Hamilton, Buster Williams, and Louis Hayes. From New York to Barcelona, Champian’s swinging style and charismatic performances have made her a guardian of the legacy of Jazz. Champian’s heroes include Bud Powell, Red Garland, Erroll Garner, Count Basie, Sarah Vaughan, and Dinah Washington.
Jazz education is a concern near and dear to Champian’s heart, having been inspired by Clark Terry’s tireless advocacy for the perpetuation of the craft. Clark coached her on rehearsal techniques, performance etiquette, private teaching, and the business of the Jazz. Champian strives to impart this unique knowledge to students around the world, while being involved in educational programs such as Litchfield Jazz Camp and Rutgers Jazz Institute. Her skills as an educator in Jazz come from the highest authorities as she works to perpetuate the Jazz language.
Champian is ambitious about recording her music. As a leader she has twelve recordings to her credit. Her debut album, “Champian with David Berger & the Sultans of Swing” (2007 Such Sweet Thunder Records) was recorded following a two-year residency at the famed New York Jazz Club Birdland. Her releases “Sometimes I’m Happy” (2008 Venus Records) and “the breeze and I” (2010 Gut String Records) featured her working trio. Champian’s following two releases, “Champian Sings and Swings” (2013 Sharp Nine) and “Change Partners” (2014 Cellar Live) were both recognized as being “in the top 10 releases of the year” for their respective years by the NY Observer. Champian’s album, “After Dark” (2016) with Jazz luminaries David Williams on bass, Lewis Nash on drums, and Stephen Fulton on flugelhorn, features the music of Dinah Washington. In 2017, she published no less than three albums: a strictly instrumental album ("Speechless" - Posi-Tone), a wonderful recording with Scott Hamilton ("The Things We Did Last Summer" - Blau Records) and "Christmas with Champian" (Champian Records). Her 10th album, “The Stylings of Champian,” released in 2018 is a two disc set which was named one of the Top 5 Jazz Releases of the Year by NYC Jazz Record. 2019 saw the release of an intimate live duo recording, “Dream a Little…” with Jazz altoist Cory Weeds. All releases are available online. Champian’s 2020 release “Birdsong” celebrating the music of Charlie Parker features Scott Hamilton. Called “buoyant” by the New York Times, “Birdsong” was featured as Album of the Week by WRTI Philadelphia, JazzFM UK, and TSF Jazz Paris.
Recognized as a Rising Jazz Star by the Downbeat Magazine Critic’s Poll, Champian was also named Pianist and Female Vocalist of 2019 by Hot House Magazine Readers Poll. Her “galvanizing presence” (the New Yorker) and her alluring musical presentation have made her “a charming young steward of the mainstream Jazz tradition.” (The New York Times)
"...an artist who radiates the joy of creation with a luminescent personality. Her music reflects that personality, and—like the sounds of of Bud Powell and Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong—it lifts the spirit high." ALL ABOUT JAZZ
“Fulton’s knowing vocals and improvisational flair are as cutting-edge as anything happening in the avant garde. To paraphrase JD Allen,, sometimes the most radical thing you can do these days is swing.” NEW YORK MUSIC DAILY
Champian Fulton
Just Friends featuring Scott Hamilton - Champian Fulton "Birdsong"
If I Had You - Champian Fulton (2015)
Jazz au Tivoli Champian Fulton What A Difference a Day Made
It's Too Late (Baby, Too Late)
Isn't It a Lovely Day (The Stylings of Champian 2018)
Champian Fulton "Whistling Away the Dark"
Dream A Little Dream Of Me
The things we did last summer - Promo - Champian Fulton & Scott Hamilton
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“I think I’ve finally put my finger on what it is that I find so entrancing about Champian Fulton’s artistry: it’s how she manages, against all odds, to be so many things at once. Her vocal style is a unique amalgamation of the straight-ahead and the experimental, alternately declamatory and lyrical, off-beat and swinging, devoted to the song itself and determined to express her uniqueness–imagine listening simultaneously to Ella Fitzgerald and Nina Simone singing the same song, and you’ll get a general idea of what I’m talking about. There are very few singers who can make hoary standards like “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was” and “Body and Soul” entirely their own, and she is one of them. But then there’s her piano playing, which is every bit as playfully inventive and rhythmically surprising as her singing, while at the same time swinging so powerfully that it’s hard to sit still while listening." CD HOT LIST
"In an age when lots of albums try to sell you a bill of goods or present false deities, Champian makes her mark by just being herself. It's a novel concept that shouldn't have to be....Champian continues to dazzle and delight on this album, demonstrating that her truest voice may very well be found in her piano playing." Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz
"loves to deliver unpretentious, swinging fun." - Downbeat Magazine
“A charming young steward of the mainstream jazz tradition...” Nate Chinen, THE NEW YORK TIMES
"An assured vocalist with a galvanizing presence." THE NEW YORKER
“[Champian’s] voice is a little bit of heaven here on earth. Subservient to each song (as it should be), she takes lyrics and makes them all into one-act vignettes, believable, honest, imbued with a veracity that transcends the art of vocalese into a kind of personal communication that will resonate deep in your soul. “ Mike Greenblatt for “The Aquarian”
"...joyfully anchored in a style that’s pure, unmannered swing; She is a superb steward of America’s own music at its best, and that’s a very welcome proposition." CABARET SCENES
“Fulton moves effortlessly and vividly from delight, to wistfulness, to wounded angst in a matter of seconds and makes it seem completely natural, the work of a deep and insightful individual and a rare force on both the keys and the mic.” NEW YORK MUSIC DAILY
"Champian Fulton swings! She's a fine singer and a highly skilled pianist with impeccable taste in tunes. Champian's also a refreshingly warm and gracious stage presence. It's been my pleasure to feature her music on Jazz a la Mode over the past 5 years, and to see her whenever she's in the area." Tom Reney, NEW ENGLAND PUBLIC RADIO
“Champian is the most gifted pure jazz singer of her generation” Mark Stryker, DETROIT FREE PRESS
