Early Years
Tom spent his formative years playing trumpet and flute, listening to Paul Desmond, Wes Montgomery, Jobim, Cannonball, Miles, and Bill Evans. He sat in and learned from Terry Clarke, Don Thompson, Philly Joe Jones at venues such as the legendary Jazz Alley and the Espresso. These clubs and coffee houses provided a rich environment for Tom to learn the jazz language. Playing a variety of gigs through his teenage years, Tom added hundreds of standard tunes to his repertoire. He would join the American Federation of Musicians in 1969, playing with Bill Cosby on his first union date.

While he performed regularly in the gigging world, Tom expanded his musical knowledge in the classical field, studying trumpet for several years with Ken Hopkins of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and becoming a member of the Vancouver Youth Orchestra in 1966. During this time, he started playing the flute, which would quickly become his main focus in studying with Don Dorazio of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.