Jon Thomas has played in jazz festivals around the world, and has performed with Charles Toliver, Marquis Hill, Bruce Williams, Richie Goods, Jazzmeia Horn, and the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, among many others. Thomas graduated from The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in 2015 and The Juilliard School in 2019. He has been a student to pianists Aaron Goldberg, Dan Nimmer, Aaron Parks, and Taylor Eigsti. In 2012 he was awarded The ASCAP foundation Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award and hosted a bi-weekly session at Smalls Jazz club from 2015-2019. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, he benefited from the city’s wide range of jazz veterans and swing-rooted tradition. Sonically his sound hearkens to the creative influences he’s adopted. Influences such as Kenny Kirkland, Wynton Kelly, and Mulgrew Miller are apparent muses and thus lend their sound to his style.