Baker Artist Portfolios

Described as “extraordinarily talented” by Houston Public Media, Tomás Jonsson is an internationally recognized pianist and composer based in the Baltimore Area. Tomás is known for his ability to perform with any lineup, in any genre, for any audience. He was classically trained from the age of 5, but decided to pursue jazz in high school after being blown away by Art Tatum’s 1949 recording of “Blue Skies.” During his time in Houston, he was mentored in jazz piano by Houston luminary Paul English. He also began to explore Black Gospel music; his 5 years of experience playing in historically-Black Baptist churches across Texas have infused his playing with a gospel sensibility that is uncommon for a classically trained musician.

From 2023-2024, Tomás served as pianist in the legendary One O'Clock Lab Band®, offering him the opportunity to collaborate with guest artists including Helen Sung, Billy Childs, Steve Davis, and Rufus Reid. In August 2025, Tomás won first place in the Rubato International Jazz Piano Competition. In November 2024, Tomás won the BMI/PeerMusic Latin Music Award for his original composition “Ocurrencias,” featuring a diverse assortment of Latin-American grooves. Earlier that year, Tomás won 2nd Place (and Best Jazz Ballad) at the UNISA International Jazz Piano Competition in Pretoria, South Africa after four rounds of intense competition with 11 other contestants from all over the world. In May of 2023, Tomás won 1st Place at the Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition, subsequently performing at the Jacksonville Jazz Festival featuring Ulysses Owens, Jr. & Reuben Rogers.

In March of this year, Tomás performed at the 2025 IGA Guatemala Jazz Festival with Guatemalan jazz singer Dani Toralla as part of their series of concerts promoting their recent Brazilian Jazz duo project, Afina-Dos. Tomás has also released original singles with Benny Benack III and 3x Juno-winning phenomenon Caity Gyorgy. In Fall 2026 he expects to release his next album entitled “The Unsung Sinatra,” which explores deep-cut Sinatra tunes that have been totally forgotten by mainstream jazz including “Should I?” and “Sheila” (never recorded since Sinatra). The album is composed of fresh original arrangements for a 6-piece band featuring Basie-band alumnus Brad Leali on saxophones. He hopes this project will further expand the Great American Songbook to include these forgotten gems.