Fuasi Abdul-Khaliq

His mother introduced him to the clarinet when he was just 8 years old, and his musical talent quickly became evident as he won numerous competition awards while performing with elementary and junior high school bands. His early career was marked by the release of two LP albums at the age of 10 and 11, where he played as the 1st clarinetist for the Los Angeles Unified All City Elementary School Honour Orchestra.

He earned a B.A. in Sociology from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. Fuasi began performing professionally in 1972 after completing his undergraduate degree. During his postgraduate studies, he worked closely with the late, great African-American pianist Horace Tapscott at his institution, "UGMAA" (Union of God's Musicians and Artists Ascension) in Los Angeles, California. This experience fostered a lifelong relationship with Tapscott's Pan-African People's Arkestra ("PAPA"), where Fuasi served as assistant conductor, arranger, composer, copyist, and played the saxophone, clarinet, and flute.

He leads several ensembles, including Fuasi and Ensemble, The Ebony Big Band, Fuasi's Latin Jazz Connection, the Horace Tapscott Tribute Ensemble, Fumatikelo, Fuasi's Organ Ensemble and The Jazz Crusaders Tribute Project & Beyond. Throughout his career, he has shared the stage with many jazz legends, such as Walter Bishop Jr., Jimmy Garrison, Sam Rivers, Benny Golson, Hal Singer, Rudy Stevenson, Ed Blackwell, Arthur Blythe, Joe Bowie, Sugar Blue, Abdu Salim, Dick de Graaf, Abraham Burton, Omar Sosa, Kelvin Sholar, and Winard Harper, among others.