Tom McDermott is a jazz pianist born in St. Louis, Missouri, USA in 1957. He began studying piano at six and became a professional musician at age sixteen. He earned his masters in music at Washington University in St. Louis in 1982. In 1984 he moved to New Orleans and became noted for the style of jazz linked to the town, especially Dixieland jazz and ragtime. He was in the group "Dukes of Dixieland" in the 1990s. However he has done other styles, including Brazilian jazz. His arrangements for such groups as the New Orleans Nightcrawlers combine traditional New Orleans style with very distinctive modern innovations.