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Robert Thomas Jr.\xa0is an American jazz percussionist and hand drummer. He is known as an innovator in\xa0Be-bop and has been nominated for two Grammy awards. He is also a visual artist.
\xa0Born in\xa0Miami, 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.
After graduating from high school, Thomas studied at\xa0Miami-Dade Community College. During this time, he discovered jazz, and began to play with an array of artists including\xa0Jet Nero,\xa0Ira Sullivan,\xa0Billy Marcus,\xa0Zoot Sims,\xa0Thad Jones,\xa0Monty Alexander\xa0and\xa0Mel Lewis. In the late 70s, Thomas played at a benefit with\xa0Jaco Pastorius. Soon afterward, Thomas auditioned with\xa0Joe Zawinul\xa0and\xa0Wayne Shorter's jazz fusion group\xa0Weather Report\xa0at a live performance in\xa0New 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 released \u201cIn the Dreamtime\u201d, a solo CD of his own music. He continued to work with Zawinul until 1994.
In addition to Weather Report, Thomas has performed with The Zawinul Syndicate, Jaco Pastorius' Word of Mouth Band, Stan Getz,\xa0David Sanborn,\xa0Carlos Santana,\xa0Eddie Harris,\xa0Branford Marsalis,\xa0Herbie Mann,\xa0Ahmad Jamal,\xa0Roberto Perera\u2026 and world artists including sitar player\xa0Amitava Chatterjee and African artist\xa0Vinx.\xa0Thomas maintains an extensive discography 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.