Tommy Ruskin

July 15, 1942 - January 1, 2015 A well-known Kansas City jazz drummer. He attended Southwest High School and began drumming professionally at age 17 with the Roy Johnson Trio. Tommy played and recorded with many of Kansas City's top jazz artists including Julie Turner; Marilyn Maye; Sammy Tucker; Pete Eye, Milt Abel; John Elliott; Braham Wijnands; Mike Ning; Stan Kessler; Jay McShann; Mike Metheny; Pat Metheny; and Gary Foster - just to name a few. Tommy led the rhythm section for the Topeka jazz workshop for many years, backing international jazz artists such Zoot Sims, Clark Terry, Billy Eckstine, Bill Watrous and Carl Fontana. He performed with his wife, Julie Turner at The Majestic Steakhouse for many years, and more recently with Braham Wijnands at the Majestic Steakhouse and with Lynn Zimmer at The Gaslight Grill.