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Ron Thomas

Wide and deep in classical composition and jazz

About Me

Ron learned piano and musicianship first from his father Buddy Thomas, entered Manhattan School of Music as Piano Major in 1959, changed major to Composition in the second semester. Studied with Karlheinz Stockhausen in 1964 at the University of Pennsylvania, Stefan Wolpe and Roland Hanna in 1968-1970, and earned a Masters in Composition in 1970. Ron traveled to the University of Illinois in February of 1965 where he experienced a jazz epiphany, worked exclusively as a jazz pianist throughout the next seven years, recorded with Pat Martino and Eric Kloss in 1972, returned to classical composition while continuing to work as a jazz pianist, began releasing CD's of his own in 1995 through the support of Richard Burton of Vectordisc records. He is grateful for the encouragement of influential friends. John Cage and Herbie Hancock.