Willie Thomas was raised in
Orlando, Florida and started playing the trumpet around the age of 10. In the 1950s, Willie was a member of the
Third Army Band, where he met and played with pianist
Wynton Kelly, which became his first real break into the New York jazz scene. In his 45 years as a jazz trumpeter, Thomas has performed or recorded with many jazz greats including the
MJT+3 with
Frank Strozier and
Bob Cranshaw, the
Slide Hampton Octet with
Freddie Hubbard and
George Coleman, the
Woody Herman Orchestra, the
Al Belletto Sextet, and singer
Peggy Lee. Thomas created the series of jazz educational books
Jazz Anyone...?. He has also an active member of the
International Association for Jazz Education and was inducted into the International Association of Jazz Educators' Jazz Education Hall of Fame in 1994. ==Personal life and death==