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Beyonce sidewoman Tia Fuller plays 10th Jazz on the Ave fest Saturday

Saxophonist Tia Fuller, who has worked with Beyonce and Nancy Wilson, plays 10th annual Jazz on the Ave Music Festival on Cecil B. Moore Avenue Saturday, along with Ronnie Laws, Jaguar Wright and Jeff Bradshaw.

JAZZ IS TYPICALLY associated with intimate nightclub settings, so playing outdoors on a larger stage to an audience that sprawls out over a block or more can be disconcerting. Not so for saxophonist Tia Fuller, who says she always makes it a point to get a crowd involved and excited, no matter its size.

"From a physical standpoint, people might not be right out in front of you where you can reach out and grab them," says Fuller, who will play Saturday on Cecil B. Moore Avenue as part of the 10th annual Jazz on the Ave Music Festival. "I still make sure that I'm talking to people and connecting with them on a musical and a verbal level, just to make sure everybody's having a good time. That's the whole point: to hopefully inspire and change some lives in the midst of playing some great music."

Fuller grew up engaging with audiences, first as a part of her family's band, Fuller Sound, and later as an in-demand jazz artist playing with Esperanza Spalding, Terri Lyne Carrington, Sean Jones, and Nancy Wilson. She learned how to seize a crowd's attention from one of the best during two stints as a member of Beyoncé's all-female touring band.

"I knew that it was important to connect with an audience, but it wasn't until I got with Beyoncé that it became even more clear," she says. "I've definitely been inspired by my experience with Beyoncé to try to integrate the R&B and pop approach to touring with the integrity and spontaneity of jazz."

For this Philadelphia appearance, Fuller will perform with Philadelphia trombonist/bandleader Jeff Bradshaw's ensemble, bringing new arrangements of music from her most recent album, Angelic Warrior, along with a few groove-oriented pieces from earlier recordings.

Bradshaw, who also books the artists for Jazz on the Ave with festival director Christine Brown, encouraged Fuller to concentrate on music with an R&B bent to better fit with the overall vibe of the free, daylong event.

"Though the name of the festival says jazz, I look at jazz as being the mother of all music," says Brown, director of Beech Community Services, the organization that produces the annual festival. "Since the inception of the festival, we've had all types of genres, from reggae to Latin music to R&B. We try to mix the sounds because we want to bridge the gap between the younger generation and the older generation."

Beech Community Services, one of four organizations under the umbrella of the community-focused Beech Cos., works on quality-of-life issues for the Cecil B. Moore community. They produce several free events every year, with Jazz on the Ave intended to "bring together community residents with business owners," Brown says.

"It's almost like a fellowship. On the heels of all the violence that's going on in and around Philadelphia, it's something that we feel is much-needed. It's our way of giving back to the community and letting them know that we're here for them and that we advocate on their behalf."

In addition to Fuller, this year's 10th-anniversary festival will feature well-known smooth-jazz and R&B saxophonist Ronnie Laws, an early member of Earth, Wind & Fire, whose 1975 hit, "Always There," is a radio staple; gospel singer Kim Burrell; Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Tony Rich, who has written songs for Boyz II Men, TLC, and Toni Braxton; soul singer Jaguar Wright; jazz vocalist Sherry Wilson Butler; and house-music band Worldtown SoundSystem.

Though her own music leans toward hard-driving post-bop sounds, Fuller embraces this opportunity to showcase her more soulful side. By doing so, she strikes a balance similar to that suggested by the title of her newest album. Angelic Warrior is "about being able to maintain balance as individuals," she says.

"It spans from being on the side of the angels, maintaining a sense of grace, peace, and level of discernment in your life, to the opposite of that, the warrior, having a sense of determination, tenacity, and drive. You have to keep them both in check."

The festival, which last year attracted about 5,000 people throughout the day, is engineered to maintain its own sense of balance, Brown says. She hopes to attract the young and the old through the music, as well as the food vendors, caricature artists, photo booths, and a mechanical bull. There's also the local and visiting audiences, which she expects to expand with the booking of better-known artists.

"We have something for everyone," Brown says. "We welcome everyone to come, but we don't want to lose the focus that this is about the community."

10th annual Jazz on the Ave Music Festival, noon-8:30 p.m. Saturday (rain date Sunday), Cecil B. Moore Avenue between Broad and 17th Streets. Free, 215-763-8868, www.jazzontheavephilly.com.