Oluyemi Thomas

Biography

Oluyemi Thomas (born August 16, 1952) is a free jazz bass clarinetist and saxophonist. Thomas was born in Detroit, Michigan. He began playing clarinet as a child, and was exposed to the music of Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, Dizzy Gillespie, and Duke Ellington by his parents. He attended Washtenaw College in Ann Arbor Township, Michigan, studying engineering and music, and receiving an Associate of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering, then worked for Bechtel. In 1974, he moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, where he was employed by a construction company and became involved with the music scene. During this time, he met his future wife and musical partner, the poet Ijeoma Chinue Thomas, who was visiting from Washington, D.C.. Thomas moved to D.C. to join her, and the couple soon married before moving back to the west coast, settling in Oakland.

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