Bobby Thomas (Robert C. Thomas) (November 14, 1932 – October 20, 2013) was a Kittitian-American jazz drummer.Feather, Leonard & Gitler, Ira ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz''
Oxford University Press US, 2007 at Google Books A member of

Junior Mance Julian Clifford Mance, Jr. (October 10, 1928 – January 17, 2021), known as Junior Mance, was an American jazz pianist and composer. Biography Early life (1928–1947) Mance was born in Evanston, Illinois. When he was five years old, Mance st ...

's trio in 1960, Thomas recorded with

the Montgomery Brothers ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

in New York in January 1960.

Early life and musical beginnings

Born in Newark, New Jersey, to West Indian parents emigrated from the Caribbean island of

Saint Kitts Saint Kitts, officially the Saint Christopher Island, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis cons ...

, Thomas began his music studies at age 12. He studied drums with Al Germansky. He continued his training through high school at Central High. He performed with the Nat Phipps Band during his teenage years and young adulthood. He served in the United States Army from 1953 to 1955 where he played in the Army Band. After his military service, he attended the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

of Music and graduated with Bachelor of Science degree. While at Juilliard he worked and recorded with

Wes Montgomery John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for an unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a dist ...

Gigi Gryce Gigi Gryce (born George General Grice Jr.; November 28, 1925 – March 14, 1983), later Basheer Qusim, was an American jazz saxophonist, flautist, clarinetist, composer, arranger, and educator. While his performing career was relatively short, ...

Illinois Jacquet Jean-Baptiste "Illinois" Jacquet (October 30, 1922 – July 22, 2004) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, best remembered for his solo on "Flying Home", critically recognized as the first R&B saxophone solo. Although he was a pioneer of t ...

Roland Hanna Roland Pembroke Hanna (February 10, 1932 – November 13, 2002) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and teacher. Biography Hanna studied classical piano from the age of 11, but was strongly interested in jazz, having been introduced to i ...

Hubert Laws Hubert Laws (born November 10, 1939) is an American flutist and saxophonist with a career spanning over 40 years in jazz, classical, and other music genres. Laws is one of the few classical artists who has also mastered jazz, pop, and rhythm- ...

Don Ellis Donald Johnson Ellis (July 25, 1934 – December 17, 1978) was an American jazz trumpeter, drummer, composer, and bandleader. He is best known for his extensive musical experimentation, particularly in the area of time signatures. Later in his lif ...

Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Shorter came to prominence in the late 1950s as a member of, and eventually primary composer for, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. In the 1960s, he joined Miles Davi ...

, Richard Williams, Richard Davis.

Career

On August 29, 1966 Thomas recorded on some unreleased

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

tracks with the

Dorothy Ashby Dorothy Jeanne Thompson (August 6, 1932 – April 13, 1986), better known as Dorothy Ashby, was an American jazz harpist, singer and composer. Hailed as one of the most "unjustly under loved jazz greats of the 1950s" and the "most accomplished ...

Octet, featuring

Clark Terry Clark Virgil Terry Jr. (December 14, 1920 – February 21, 2015) was an American swing and bebop trumpeter, a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz, and a composer and educator. He played with Charlie Barnet (1947), Count Basie (1948–51), Duke ...

, Hubert Laws, John Patton, Richard Davis,

Ray Barretto Raymundo "Ray" Barretto Pagán (April 29, 1929 – February 17, 2006) was an American percussionist and bandleader of Puerto Rican descent. Throughout his career as a percussionist, he played a wide variety of Latin music styles, as well as Lati ...

, Randall Hicks, and on the following day, a further series of tracks, also unreleased, by the Dorothy Ashby Nonet, with the same personnel, minus Laws and with Richard Williams, and

Clifford Jordan Clifford Laconia Jordan (September 2, 1931 – March 27, 1993) was an American jazz tenor saxophone player. While in Chicago, he performed with Max Roach, Sonny Stitt, and some rhythm and blues groups. He moved to New York City in 1957, after ...

instead. In his years studying at the Juilliard School he often played drums for dance classes and befriended choreographer Michael Bennett with whom he later worked as musical coordinator (credited as Robert Thomas) developing the critically acclaimed and

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

winning Broadway show ''

A Chorus Line ''A Chorus Line'' is a 1975 musical with music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and a book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante. Set on the bare stage of a Broadway theater, the musical is centered on seventeen Broadway dancers ...

''. His other Broadway musical credits include "Henry, Sweet Henry", " Promises, Promises", "Coco", "Company", "Don't Play Us Cheap". Thomas performed with Jerome Robbins' Ballet U.S.A.,

Carmen McRae Carmen Mercedes McRae (April 8, 1920 – November 10, 1994) was an American jazz singer. She is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century and is remembered for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpre ...

Herbie Mann Herbert Jay Solomon (April 16, 1930 – July 1, 2003), known by his stage name Herbie Mann, was an American jazz flute player and important early practitioner of world music. Early in his career, he also played tenor saxophone and clarinet (incl ...

Cy Coleman Cy Coleman (born Seymour Kaufman; June 14, 1929 – November 18, 2004) was an American composer, songwriter, and jazz pianist. Life and career Coleman was born Seymour Kaufman in New York City, United States, to Eastern European Jewish parents ...

, Alvin Ailey Dance Company,

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

Jimmy Heath James Edward Heath (October 25, 1926 – January 19, 2020), nicknamed Little Bird, was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, and big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually co ...

, Gloria Lynn,

Charles Aznavour Charles Aznavour ( , ; born Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian, hy, Շահնուր Վաղինակ Ազնավուրեան, ; 22 May 1924 – 1 October 2018) was a French-Armenian singer, lyricist, actor and diplomat. Aznavour was known for his dist ...

Frank Wess Frank Wellington Wess (January 4, 1922 – October 30, 2013) was an American jazz saxophonist and flutist. In addition to his extensive solo work, Wess is remembered for his time in Count Basie's band from the early 1950s into the 1960s. Critic ...

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick (; born December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest U.S. hit makers between 1955 and 1999, based on her chart history on ''Billboards Hot 100 pop singles cha ...

, Joe Williams,

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles M ...

Gerry Mulligan Gerald Joseph Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996), also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing the instrum ...

Paul Desmond Paul Desmond (born Paul Emil Breitenfeld; November 25, 1924 – May 30, 1977) was an American jazz alto saxophone, alto saxophonist and composer, best known for his work with the Dave Brubeck Quartet and for composing that group's biggest hit, " ...

, Oliver Jones, and the

Billy Taylor Billy Taylor (July 24, 1921 – December 28, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, composer, broadcaster and educator. He was the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professor of Music at East Carolina University in Greenville, and from 1994 was the ...

Trio. As a member of the Billy Taylor Trio he performed two command performances at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

for both Presidents

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

and

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

, and toured Europe, Russia, the United States and the Caribbean. Wayne Shorter, Hubert Laws, Junior Mance,

Dave Pike David Samuel Pike (March 23, 1938 – October 3, 2015) was an American jazz vibraphone and marimba player. He appeared on many albums by Nick Brignola, Paul Bley and Kenny Clarke, Bill Evans, and Herbie Mann. He also recorded extensively as lea ...

Attila Zoller Attila Cornelius Zoller (June 13, 1927 – January 25, 1998) was a Hungarian jazz guitarist. After World War II, he escaped the Soviet takeover of Hungary by fleeing through the mountains on foot into Austria. In 1959, he moved to the U.S., wher ...

have recorded Bobby's compositions and the David Frost T.V. Show Band led by Billy Taylor. He was the Musical Coordinator as well as the composer of the theme for ''Tony Brown's Journal''. Thomas was co-chair with

Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz Jazz drumming, drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in h ...

as percussion instructor at the Jazz in July Workshop in Jazz Improvisation at the

University of Massachusetts at Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...

. He has conducted master classes at many universities and performing arts centers both in the U.S. and abroad. He was associate professor in the Jazz Faculty at

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

Mason Gross School of the Arts Mason Gross School of the Arts is the arts conservatory at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. It is named for Mason W. Gross, the sixteenth president of Rutgers. Mason Gross offers the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance, Theater, Digi ...

from 1993 through 1996. Thomas was drum teacher to his friend and former Juilliard roommate Frank Perowsky's son, Jazz and rock drummer

Ben Perowsky Ben Perowsky (born May 12, 1966) is an American drummer, percussionist, composer, and music producer. He is the drummer on stage in the 8 TONY award winning Broadway musical Hadestown. Perowsky leads the Ben Perowsky Trio, Moodswing Orchestra and ...

for many years. He also gave lessons to drummer/percussionist

Alphonse Mouzon Alphonse Lee Mouzon (November 21, 1948 – December 25, 2016) was an American jazz fusion drummer and the owner of Tenacious Records, a label that primarily released Mouzon's recordings. He was a composer, arranger, producer, and actor. He ga ...

. From 1999 to 2010 Thomas and his wife Nicole lived in

Montréal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-p ...

, Québec, where he devoted his time to composing, mentoring young musicians and vocalists. The couple moved back to

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

in New York City in 2011. They have two children, television producer

Lorna Thomas Lorna Pauline Thomas (1 December 1917 – 17 September 2014) was an Australian cricketer from the 1930s to the 1950s and Australia national women's cricket team, Australian team manager from 1963 to 1978. Lorna Thomas (née McCarthy) was first ...

and Marc Thomas. The drummer Bobby Thomas is not to be confused with Robert Thomas Jr., the percussionist and hand drummer of the same name who played with

Weather Report Weather Report was an American jazz fusion band active from 1970 to 1986. The band was founded in 1970 by Austrian virtuoso keyboardist Joe Zawinul, American saxophonist Wayne Shorter, Czech bassist Miroslav Vitouš, American drummer and vocali ...

, though coincidentally he has been a lifelong friend of Weather Report founder

, whom he met during their teenage years performing in New Jersey. Wayne recorded Thomas's original piece "Depois Do Amor, O Vazio (After Love, Emptiness)" on his album ''

Odyssey of Iska ''Odyssey of Iska'' is the fourteenth album by American jazz composer and saxophonist Wayne Shorter, released on Blue Note Records in 1971. Musicians include guitarist Gene Bertoncini, bassists Ron Carter and Cecil McBee and drummer Billy Har ...

''.

Discography

With

*'' Desmond Blue'' (RCA Victor, 1961) With

Art Farmer Arthur Stewart Farmer (August 21, 1928 – October 4, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet–flugelhorn combination especially designed for him. He and his identical twin brother, double ...

*'' The Many Faces of Art Farmer'' (Scepter, 1964) With

Stan Getz Stanley Getz (February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of ...

*'' Billy Highstreet Samba'' (EmArcy, 1981 990 With

*''

Reminiscin' ''Reminiscin is an album by saxophonist Gigi Gryce recorded in 1960 for the Mercury label.Gigi Gryce cat ...

'' (Mercury, 1960) With

Eddie Harris Eddie Harris (October 20, 1934 – November 5, 1996) was an American jazz musician, best known for playing tenor saxophone and for introducing the electrically amplified saxophone. He was also fluent on the electric piano and organ. His best-k ...

*'' The Tender Storm'' (Atlantic, 1966) With

*'' The Laws of Jazz'' (Atlantic, 1964) *''

Flute By-Laws ''Flute By-Laws'' is the second album by jazz flautist Hubert Laws, released in 1966 on Atlantic Records. Track listing All tracks composed by Hubert Laws #"Bloodshot" #"Miedo" #"Mean Lene" #"No You'd Better Not" #"Let Her Go" #"Strange Girl" ...

'' (Atlantic, 1965) With

*'' The Soulful Piano of Junior Mance'' (Riverside, 1960) *'' That's Where It Is!'' (Capitol, 1965) *'' Harlem Lullaby'' (Atlantic, 1967) With

*''

Herbie Mann Live at Newport ''Herbie Mann Live at Newport'' is a live album by American jazz flautist Herbie Mann recorded at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1963 for the Atlantic label.

'' (Atlantic, 1963) *''

Latin Fever ''Latin Fever'' is an album by American jazz flautist Herbie Mann recorded for the Atlantic label and released in 1964.

'' (Atlantic, 1964) *'' My Kinda Groove'' (Atlantic, 1964) *''

Our Mann Flute ''Our Mann Flute'' is an album by American jazz flautist Herbie Mann released on the Atlantic label in 1966.The Beat Goes On'' (Atlantic, 1967) With

The Montgomery Brothers ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

*''

Groove Yard ''Groove Yard'' is an album by The Montgomery Brothers, released in 1961. Reception In a review for Allmusic, music critic Ken Dryden wrote: "The guitarist and his brothers are in great form throughout the session in spite of the less-than-ide ...

'' (Riverside, 1961) With

*''

Manhattan Latin ''Manhattan Latin'' (subtitled ''The Sensuous Rhythms of Spanish Harlem'') is an album by American jazz vibraphonist Dave Pike which was recorded in 1964 for the Decca label. The album is among Chick Corea's earliest recordings Billy Taylor Billy Taylor (July 24, 1921 – December 28, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, composer, broadcaster and educator. He was the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professor of Music at East Carolina University in Greenville, and from 1994 was the ...

*''The Jazzmobile Allstars'' *''White Nights'' With Richard Williams *''

New Horn in Town ''New Horn in Town'' is the sole album led by trumpeter Richard Williams featuring performances recorded in late 1960 and originally released on the Candid label.Edwards, D., & Callahan, M.Candid Records discographyaccessed October 19, 2015

'' (Candid, 1960)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Bobby American jazz drummers 2013 deaths 1932 births