Robert Thomas Jr. is an American jazz percussionist and hand drummer. He is known as an innovator in

Be-bop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early-to-mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrumen ...

and hand drumming, and has been nominated for two Grammy awards. He is also a visual artist, working as a painter.

Life and career

Robert Thomas Jr. was born in Miami, the eldest of seven children, and grew up in North Miami Beach. He was encouraged by his fifth-grade teacher to play music, and not having an instrument, Thomas learned to play percussion on his desk. He sang in the choir at Oak Grove Missionary Baptist Church, and at age sixteen, began playing percussion with the Broomfield Family, a local group that performed in churches and nightclubs. He joined the ensemble as a roadie, but after playing percussion with the group at a private party, went on to play in the band. Although still under-age, he played with the group at such venues as the Castaway Hotel's Wreck Bar. After graduating from high school, Thomas studied at

Miami-Dade Community College Miami Dade College (Miami Dade, MDC or Dade) is a public college in Miami, Florida. Founded in 1959, it has a total of eight campuses and twenty-one outreach centers throughout Miami-Dade County. It is the largest college in the Florida College ...

. During this time, he discovered jazz, and began to play with saxophonist Jet Nero at the Gold Dust lounge and other artists including

Ira Sullivan Ira Sullivan (May 1, 1931 – September 21, 2020) was an American jazz trumpeter, Flugelhorn, flugelhornist, flautist, saxophonist, and composer born in Washington, D.C., United States. An active musician since the 1950s, he often worked with ...

, Billy Marcus, Zoot Sims, Thad Jones, Monty Alexander and Mel Lewis. In the late 70s, Thomas played at a benefit with Jaco Pastorius in Miami Springs. Soon afterward, Thomas auditioned with

Joe Zawinul Josef Erich Zawinul ( '; 7 July 1932 – 11 September 2007) was an Austrian jazz and jazz fusion keyboardist and composer. First coming to prominence with saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, Zawinul went on to play with Miles Davis and to bec ...

and Wayne Shorter's jazz fusion group

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 ...

at a live performance in New Haven, Connecticut. Thomas said afterward that they were looking for someone to play Be-bop, rather than Latin-style percussion. He settled in France, and continued to play with Weather Report until 1986. After the group disbanded, Thomas resettled in Miami, and shortly afterward issued a solo CD of his own music ''In the Dreamtime'' on a local label. He continued to work with Zawinul until 1994. Besides Weather Report, Thomas played with

The Zawinul Syndicate The Zawinul Syndicate was a jazz fusion band formed by Austrian keyboardist Joe Zawinul in 1988. The band evolved out of Zawinul's former band Weather Report. The band adhered to Zawinul's roots in jazz. Their style could be described as a comb ...

, Jaco Pastorius' Word of Mouth band, and individual artists including

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 ...

, David Sanborn,

Carlos Santana Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist who rose to fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band Santana, which pioneered a fusion of Rock and roll and Latin American jazz. Its sound featured ...

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 ...

Branford Marsalis Branford Marsalis (born August 26, 1960) is an American saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed inst ...

, Herbie Mann,

Ahmad Jamal Ahmad Jamal (born Frederick Russell Jones, July 2, 1930) is an American jazz pianist, composer, bandleader and educator. For six decades, he has been one of the most successful small-group leaders in jazz. Biography Early life Jamal was born Fr ...

and

Roberto Perera Roberto Perera (born 1952) is an Uruguayan jazz harpist, in the smooth jazz and fusion styles. Born in 1952 in Montevideo, the capital city of Uruguay, Perera was barely 12 years old when his mother enrolled him in a music conservatory where he se ...

. World artists he has played with include sitar player Amitava Chatterjee, and African artist

Vinx Vinx De'Jon Parrette (born 15 December 1957), known professionally as Vinx, is a percussionist, singer, songwriter, and former athlete. Biography Early life and career Vinx attended Kansas State University on a track scholarship. In 1977, he was ...

. Thomas maintains an extensive discography and has issued several solo CDs. on which he plays an eclectic mix of instruments including conga drums, wind instruments, guitar and the African bow harp. Thomas is married to Jane Thomas and has a son, Spencer.

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Robert Jr. Living people Weather Report members American jazz percussionists American male drummers American drummers American jazz composers American multi-instrumentalists Jazz musicians from Florida Musicians from Miami American male jazz composers Year of birth missing (living people) The Zawinul Syndicate members