The smooth jazz interpretation of Meghan Trainor’s “All About That Bass” as performed by cover artists Postmodern Jukebox differs markedly from the calypso beat of Harry Belafonte’s “Day-o (Banana Boat Song)” in Broadway’s “Beetlejuice: The Musical,” but Omaha native Tom Jorgensen has kept time for these songs—and many more.
His drumming adventure began around age 3, when his maternal uncle gifted him a practice pad and sticks, but he began formally studying drums at 11 after receiving his uncle’s drum kit as a gift.
Throughout Jorgensen’s youth in Omaha, Dana Murray (founder and executive director of North Omaha Music & Arts) was his primary teacher and a significant influence. He attended the arts magnet Beveridge Middle School, where Murray had created a satellite program for drumming, then he enrolled at Burke High, where Murray served as drumline instructor.
There, Jorgensen became tenor captain and was instrumental in pushing the drumline to become an award winner. He and his peers became the first of several drumlines under Murray to win a state percussion title with Burke garnering that distinction three out of Jorgensen’s four years, according to the drumline instructor. Jorgensen also marched with Murray’s private drumline, Dojo Percussion, which won the 2010 Winter Guard International championship in Dayton, Ohio.
“I think the thing that sticks out most about Tom is his passion, I think a lot of people love something when actually they [just] like it a lot,” Murray said. “It was apparent that he just loved everything about drumming and music, and it was apparent in his work ethic…He grasped concepts really fast and seemed to be more intuitive than most of his peers…You never had to question his work ethic or how hard he was working on his skill sets. He was really self-motivated.”
After graduating from Burke, Jorgensen moved to New York City to attend The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, where he furthered his music studies, specifically jazz drumming. He comes by this interest naturally—his maternal grandfather, Wayne Scott, was a pianist and professor at University of Colorado Boulder, where he founded the CU jazz band.
At The New School, Jorgensen studied with former John Coltrane bassist Reggie Workman as a member of the school’s revered John Coltrane Ensemble, along with former Dizzy Gillespie drummer Charli Persip. The school’s faculty also included former Dizzy Gillespie and Alice Coltrane drummer Michael Carvin, whom Jorgensen still considers a mentor.
In 2014, after earning a degree in jazz and contemporary music, Jorgensen became the house drummer on a Holland America ship to Europe, marching to the beat of the world from ocean waters.
The gig on cruise ships led to working with Postmodern Jukebox (PMJ), a rotating musical collective known for reworking popular modern music into vintage genres. In 2017, Jorgensen was in New York City when he received a phone call from a colleague at Holland America, saying Postmodern Jukebox was installing a speakeasy on the cruise line’s Eurodam ship.
As he researched PMJ, he thought, “This is an amalgamation of things I love doing,” Jorgensen said. “This is exactly what I love. It’s a month, it’s a trial run…I’m thankful I said yes.”
PMJ loved Jorgensen’s work onboard Holland America so much that they called him back in November 2018 to perform in their seven-week European Tour, traveling from Bristol in the United Kingdom to Istanbul in Turkey. One year later, he again drummed for PMJ on a tour of Australia and New Zealand, which kept him traveling from one city to another through all the region’s states and territories. The tour’s highlight involved playing to a sold-out crowd at the Sydney Opera House.
“I remember the night being one of my favorite, and most musically-satisfying performances I’ve personally given,” Jorgensen said. “A repeating thought came to me during the performance that I’ll never forget: ‘This is possibly the sweetest sounding audience I’ve ever heard’—the acoustics, the clarity, the sonic fullness of their cheers and applause took my breath away.”
As the professional drummer traveled the southern hemisphere, another musical opportunity presented itself. He returned to the Big Apple to play drums on the first national tour of “Waitress: The Musical,” eventually subbing as a drummer on Broadway.
It was fellow “Waitress” drummer, Phil Martin, who recommended that Jorgensen drum for another Braodway show.
“We stayed connected,” Jorgensen said about his friendship with Martin, who traveled to Omaha earlier this year as the drummer on the North American tour of another percussion-heavy production, “The Lion King.” “Our musical director on ‘Beetlejuice’ briefly subbed for ‘Lion King.’”
That musical director was simultaneously hiring for a new touring production of “Beetlejuice: The Musical.” Jorgensen shared, “[Martin] said, ‘I think Tom would be a good addition to your show.’”
Within five days of sending the musical director his bio, Jorgensen was offered the drumming job on the new touring production. The show played for a week in Omaha this past winter and is running at least through mid-August this year, at which time Tom and his drum kit hope to march off on a new adventure.
Visit tomjorgensensound.com for more information.
This article originally appeared in the May 2024 issue of Omaha Magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
