Tommy Haepp was born on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, and began playing trombone at the age of 10. He would quickly developed himself as a strong musician and joined the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic Summer Jazz Academy one year into playing. Under the skilled mentorship of Roosevelt Griffin, Orbert Davis, and Henry Salgado, Tommy continued to develop as a instrumentalist. Early on, he valued style over anything else, which would lead him into his first professional performances at the age of 14, when he joined Orbert Davis and his band on stage in 2016 at Millennium Park's Jay Pritzker Pavilion. This opportunity became a springboard into his further professional development. 

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Throughout high school, Tommy continued professional performance and development, and became well known by educators and professionals alike as musician who would achieve highly. Upon the start of his senior year of high school, Tommy joined the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra Jazz Ensemble, and also achieved all-district for the ILMEA jazz and classical ensembles. Tommy was also presented the opportunity to perform once again with Orbert Davis and the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, but this time with the full orchestra. Unfortunately, all of these experiences would be cut short by the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic, but this didn't stop Tommy. He committed to the University of Illinois at Chicago, which he currently attends, and has studied with the likes of Andy Baker, Alyssa Allgood, Marques Carroll, Chris Madsen, Jon Irabagon, Larry Kohut, and the Jazz Studies director Michael Stryker. 

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Tommy has established himself as a reliable and versatile trombone player who values creativity and artistry over everything else. As a well-experienced musician and bandleader, he seeks to push the boundaries of contemporary jazz while keeping the tradition he was brought up in close to his heart.