Short Bio

• Lives in Saint Paul, MN

• Proudly grew up in Aurora, Colorado - Overland High School

• Member of The Four Freshmen (1948 - present) joined in 2015

• Jazz singer, pianist, rhythm guitar, bass, drums, synthesizers

• AA in Professional Music from Southwestern Community College

• BM in Jazz Studies from New England Conservatory

• Teaches at Sarah Janes Music School, MacPhail, and Northstar Jazz Workshops

• Composes song cycles

• Arranger for small ensembles, vocal music, and big bands

• Avid soccer player and fan

Places Tommy has performed

Locally, Berlin MSP, The Dakota, Crooners, Jazz Central Studios, headlined Twin Cities Jazz Fest, and around the world at places like The MIM, Blue Note Beijing, Cotton Club Tokyo, The McCallum Arts Center, The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center, Dirty Dog Jazz Cafe, Dazzle, Live at Emmets, Carnegie Hall, Detroit Jazz Festival, Oslo Jazz Festival and much more.

Longer Bio

Tommy Boynton is a jazz singer, composer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist residing in St. Paul, Minnesota. As an artist and educator, he is grateful for the paths that have allowed him to stay actively creative and exploring while seeking to welcome all in experiencing and enjoying music free of judgment and shame. 

Tommy is a current member of The Four Freshmen, a jazz vocal band that began in 1948 and has never stopped touring for over 76 years. Joining the group in 2015, he sang the lead/top melody part while playing bass, and for the past 5 years has sung the 2nd harmony part and plays the guitar. With The Four Freshmen, Tommy has performed at some of the worlds premiere establishments including the Cotton Club in Tokyo, the Blue Note in Beijing, the Dirty Dog Jazz Cafe, Live at Emmets Place, Oslo Jazz Festival, Detroit Jazz Fest, as well as collaborated with The Phat Band, Glenn Miller Orchestra, Tex Benecke Orchestra, and recorded with Emmet Cohen, Russell Hall, Kyle Poole, Butch Miles, Ken Peplowski, Katie Thiroux, and more. Locally, Tommy teaches at Sarah Janes Music School and MacPhail. In his spare time, he composes song cycles (setting poetry to music), plays soccer, watches soccer, plays disc golf, and is an avid cuddler of pets. 

Tommy received his BM in jazz voice from the New England Conservatory where he studied with Dominique Eade, Ran Blake, and Fred Hersch, and he received his Associates Degree from Southwestern Community College of Iowa in professional music.