Pianist Shamie Royston is an adept performer known for her harmonically sophisticated post-bop jazz sound. A longtime associate of trumpeter Ron Miles, Royston emerged in the late '90s as an in-demand player on the Denver, Colorado jazz scene. She has also drawn accolades for her work with the band of saxophonist Tia Fuller (Royston's sister), appearing on albums like 2010's Decisive Steps and 2012's Angelic Warrior. On her own, she regularly leads groups with her husband, drummer Rudy Royston. Together, they issued 2018's Beautiful Liar. Born Shamie Fuller in Denver, Shamie grew up alongside her sister Tia in a musical, academically minded household. The daughters of two public school teachers (her father played bass and her mother sang), the sisters were introduced to jazz at a young age, and eventually joined their parents in the family band the Fuller Sound. As a teenager, she attended the Telluride Jazz Camp, and later honed her skills studying at the University of Denver. While there, she mentored with trumpeter Ron Miles and co-led the hard bop ensemble Jaq Nouveau with her sister. After college, she married drummer Rudy Royston and returned to school to earn her master's degree. It was during this period that she joined trumpeter Miles on Cream drummer Ginger Baker's 1999 album, Coward of the County. Despite the wealth of creative opportunities for the Roystons in Denver, they eventually relocated to New Jersey, where Rudy earned his master's degree from Rutgers University. Since moving, Shamie Royston has established herself as an in-demand performer and educator in the New York/New Jersey area. Aside from leading her own ensembles, she has worked with trumpeter Miles in addition to such other luminaries as Christian McBride, Lonnie Plaxico, Ralph Peterson, Terri Lyne Carrington, Allison Miller, and many others. She is also a regular member of Tia Fuller's ensemble, appearing on albums like 2010's Decisive Steps and 2012's Angelic Warrior. She has also garnered attention for her compositions, having written commissions for such prestigious institutions as the Jazz Philharmonic at the Penfield School District in New York, the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Metro State College in Denver, and the Colorado Music Education Association Conference. As a leader, she debuted with the trio album Portraits in 2014, which included husband Rudy on drums and Ivan Taylor on bass, as well as vocalist Camille Thurman. She returned in 2018 with her sophomore album, Beautiful Liar, which again featured her husband as well as saxophonist Jaleel Shaw, trumpeter Josh Evans, and bassist Yasushi Nakamura. ~ Matt Collar