He began performing in public at various Harlem churches while he was still in school. Bonnemere served in the army until 1945, then began establishing a reputation on the New York scene. Bandleader Claude Hopkins, a superb pianist himself, hired Bonnemere in 1946 for a lively stint at the Zanzibar Club. But soon Bonnemere would be headed back to school -- he garnered a scholarship to study jazz piano on a radio station contest and went on to achieve a Master's degree in music education from New York University. Up until 1954, teaching music was his main livelihood; the success of his Latin-flavored band and recordings helped him focus more on performance after that.

There are critics who might fling the "those who can't do, teach" cliché, considering him a pianist who is fairly light in substance. Yet his accomplishments seem substantial. At one point, his band was doing well enough to play the Apollo on a bill headlined by doo wop stars the Ravens; at that time, Bonnemere was being hyped as the "new king of mambo." The Latin audience was more than happy to be introduced to one of this king's subjects, a percussionist named Ray Barretto. Bonnemere gave Barretto his first professional gig. Curiously, the pianist seems to have spent most of his time leading his own bands, making what seems like no appearances as a sideman. In the '60s he landed a session with Prestige that featured Kenny Burrell on guitar and the powerful drummer George "Funky "Brown.

Bonnemere continued to challenge himself after that. Following several years of being basically relegated to cocktail lounge status, he began working in the controversial area of the jazz mass in the early '70s. He released three albums from these projects including Mass for Every Season, and has worked in the jazz ministry at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in New York City for more than 30 years.