Tom Varner (born June 17, 1957 in Morristown,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, United States) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

horn Horn most often refers to: *Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound ** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...

(French horn) player and composer. Varner grew up in

Millburn, New Jersey Millburn is a suburban township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the township's population was 20,149, reflecting an increase of 384 (+1.9%) from the 19,765 counted in the 2000 Census, which had ...

, and studied piano in his youth with Capitola Dickerson of Summit, New Jersey. He holds a B.M. degree (1979) from the

New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on H ...

, where he studied jazz improvisation and composition with

Ran Blake Ran Blake (born April 20, 1935) is an American pianist, composer, and educator. He is known for his unique style that combines blues, gospel, classical, and film noir influences into an innovative and dark jazz sound. His career spans over 40 rec ...

, George Russell, and

Jaki Byard John Arthur "Jaki" Byard (; June 15, 1922 – February 11, 1999) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, and arranger. Mainly a pianist, he also played tenor and alto saxophones, among several other instruments. He was known for hi ...

, and horn with Thomas Newell. He also studied briefly in 1976 with jazz horn pioneer

Julius Watkins Julius Watkins (October 10, 1921 – April 4, 1977) was an American jazz musician who played French horn. Described by AllMusic as "virtually the father of the jazz French horn", Watkins won the ''Down Beat'' critics poll in 1960 and 1961 for M ...

. Varner also holds an M.A. (2005) from the City College of New York, where he studied with Jim McNeely, Scott Reeves, and

John Patitucci John Patitucci (born December 22, 1959) is an American jazz bassist and composer. Biography John James Patitucci was born in Brooklyn, New York. When he was 12, he bought his first bass and decided on his career. He listened to bass parts in R ...

Biography

He has performed and recorded with Steve Lacy,

Dave Liebman David Liebman (born September 4, 1946) is an American saxophonist, flautist and jazz educator. He is known for his innovative lines and use of atonality. He was a frequent collaborator with pianist Richie Beirach. In June 2010, he received ...

George Gruntz George Gruntz (24 June 1932 – 10 January 2013) was a Swiss jazz pianist, organist, harpsichordist, keyboardist, and composer known for the George Gruntz Concert Big Band and his work with Phil Woods, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Don Cherry, Chet Baker ...

, John Zorn,

Bobby Watson Robert Michael Watson Jr. (born August 23, 1953), known professionally as Bobby Watson, is an American saxophonist, composer, and educator. Music career Watson was born in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and grew up in Kansas City, Kansas. He ...

, La Monte Young,

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...

with

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

Bobby Previte Bobby Previte (born July 16, 1951 in Niagara Falls, New York) is a drummer, composer, and bandleader. He earned a degree in economics from the University at Buffalo, where he also studied percussion. He moved to New York City in 1979 and began ...

, Jim McNeely,

McCoy Tyner Alfred McCoy Tyner (December 11, 1938March 6, 2020) was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his work with the John Coltrane Quartet (from 1960 to 1965) and his long solo career afterwards. He was an NEA Jazz Master and five-time Gram ...

Reggie Workman Reginald "Reggie" Workman (born June 26, 1937 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American avant-garde jazz and hard bop double bassist, recognized for his work with both John Coltrane and Art Blakey. Career Early in his career, Workman wo ...

, the Mingus Orchestra, Franz Koglmann, and appears on more than 70 albums. He also has 13 albums out as a composer/leader, with sidemen such as Steve Wilson, Tony Malaby, Ed Jackson, Ellery Eskelin, Tom Rainey, Cameron Brown, Drew Gress, Matt Wilson, Kenny Barron,

Victor Lewis Victor Lewis (born May 20, 1950) is an American jazz drummer, composer, and educator. Early life Victor Lewis was born on May 20, 1950 in Omaha, Nebraska. His father, Richard Lewis, who played saxophone and mother, Camille, a pianist-vocalist ...

, Fred Hopkins, and Billy Hart. Varner has been in the ''

Down Beat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

'' Critics Poll Top Ten annually since the mid-1990s. He has been awarded grants from the Jack Straw Foundation, Seattle's 4Culture,

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

, the Chamber Music America/Doris Duke Foundation, and has been a resident at the MacDowell, Blue Mountain Center, and Centrum arts colonies. Varner's first two recordings as a leader were influenced by Ornette Coleman, Steve Lacy, Charles Mingus,

Anthony Braxton Anthony Braxton (born June 4, 1945) is an American experimental composer, educator, music theorist, improviser and multi-instrumentalist who is best known for playing saxophones, particularly the alto. Braxton grew up on the South Side of Ch ...

, and minimalists such as Steve Reich and Philip Glass, and featured Varner's horn with alto sax (Ed Jackson), bass (Fred Hopkins or Ed Schuller) and drums (Billy Hart), with no chordal instrument. His third recording was a more "straight-ahead" jazz project, with Kenny Barron,

Jim Snidero James J. Snidero (born May 29, 1958 in Redwood City, California, United States) is an American jazz saxophonist. Performance career Snidero grew up in the Washington DC area (Camp Springs, MD), then attended the U of North Texas and performed in ...

, Mike Richmond, and Victor Lewis. The fourth project was a Sonny Rollins-influenced trio of horn, bass (Mike Richmond) and drums (Bobby Previte). From that point (1987) on, most of Varner's work as a leader was for a quintet of horn and two saxes, bass, and drums, with frequent guest artists augmenting the ensembles. Varner has combined contemporary chamber music with jazz and free improvisation in almost all of his subsequent projects. His recent work (finished in 2008, released 2009), ''Heaven and Hell,'' is for a tentet of three brass, five reeds, and bass and drums. His newest CD, ''Nine Surprises'', is for a nonet of three brass, four reeds, and bass and drums, and was released in Fall 2014. It features Seattle players Mark Taylor, Steve Treseler, Eric Barber, Jim DeJoie, Thomas Marriott, David Marriott, Phil Sparks, and Byron Vannoy. Varner lived in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

from 1979 to 2005, and now lives in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

. He is now Associate Professor of Music at

Cornish College of the Arts Cornish College of the Arts (CCA) is a private art college in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1914. History Cornish College of the Arts was founded in 1914 as the Cornish School of Music, by Nellie Cornish (1876–1956), a teacher of ...

Discography

As leader

*1981 - '' Tom Varner Quartet'' (Soul Note) *1983 - '' Motion/Stillness'' (Soul Note) *1985 - '' Jazz French Horn'' (Soul Note) *1987 - ''Covert Action'' (New Note) *1991 - ''Long Night Big Day'' (New World) *1993 - '' The Mystery of Compassion'' (Soul Note) *1997 - '' Martian Heartache'' (Soul Note) *1998 - ''The Window Up Above'' (New World) *1998 - ''The Swiss Duos'' (Unit) *1999 - ''Swimming'' (OmniTone) *2001 - ''Second Communion'' (OmniTone) *2009 - ''Heaven and Hell'' (OmniTone) *2014 - ''Nine Surprises'' (Tom Varner Music)

As sideman

Varner appears on over 70 recordings including: * Rabih Abou-Khalil, ''

The Cactus of Knowledge ''The Cactus of Knowledge'' is an album by the Lebanese oud player and composer Rabih Abou-Khalil which was recorded in Germany in 2000 and released on the Enja label the following year. Reception The Allmusic review by David R. Adler stated " ...

'' (Enja, 2001) * Jamie Baum Septet, ''Moving Forward, Standing Still'' (OmniTone) *

William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist, widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular cultur ...

, '' Dead City Radio'' (Island, 1990) * Consuelo Candelaria/

Jon Hazilla Jon is a shortened form of the common given name Jonathan, derived from "YHWH has given", and an alternate spelling of John, derived from "YHWH has pardoned".Reggie Workman Reginald "Reggie" Workman (born June 26, 1937 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American avant-garde jazz and hard bop double bassist, recognized for his work with both John Coltrane and Art Blakey. Career Early in his career, Workman wo ...

/Tom Varner, ''Bridge Across the X-Steam'' (Leo) *

and

, '' Miles & Quincy Live at Montreux'' (Warner Bros.) *

Dominic Duval Dominic Duval (c. 1944 – July 22, 2016) was an American free jazz upright bass, bassist. Since the 1990s, Duval was active principally on the New York City jazz scene. He did not begin recording regularly until the 1990s, but since then had app ...

, ''American Scrapbook'' (CIMP) * East Down Septet, ''Out of Gridlock'' (Hep) * East Down Septet, ''Channel Surfing'' (Hep) * Elin, ''Lazy Afternoon'' (Blue Toucan) * Lou Grassi/Tom Varner/Ron Horton/Tomas Ulrich, ''Neo Neo'' (CIMP) *

Concert Jazz Band '83, ''

Theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

'' (ECM, 1983) *

Concert Jazz Band '87, ''Happening Now!'' (Hat Hut, 1987) * George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band, '' First Prize'' (Enja, 1989) * Ed Jackson, ''Wake Up Call'' (New World) s producer and player* Hans Kennel, ''Habarigani Brass'' (Hat Art) * Neal Kirkwood, ''Neal Kirkwood Octet'' (Timescraper) * Jim Knapp, ''It's Not Business, It's Personal'' (Origin) *

Franz Koglmann Franz Koglmann (born 22 May 1947) is an Austrian jazz composer. He performs on both the trumpet and flugelhorn in a variety of contexts, most often within avant-garde jazz and third stream contexts. An award-winning composer, Koglmann has perfor ...

, ''Let’s Make Love'' (between the lines) * Franz Koglmann, ''Make Believe'' (between the lines) * Franz Koglmann, ''Cantos I-IV'' (Hat Art) * Steve Lacy, ''

Vespers Vespers is a service of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic (both Latin and Eastern), Lutheran, and Anglican liturgies. The word for this fixed prayer time comes from the Latin , meanin ...

'' (Soul Note, 1993) * Steuart Liebig, ''Pomegranate'' (Cryptogramophone) * Manhattan New Music Project, ''Mood Swing'' (Soul Note) * Jim McNeely Tentet, ''Group Therapy'' (OmniTone) * Natalie Merchant, ''Ophelia'' (Elektra) * New York Composers Orchestra, ''Works by Ehrlich, Horvitz'' (New World) * Orange Then Blue, ''Hold the Elevator'' (GM) * Bobby Previte, ''Bump the Renaissance'' (Sound Aspects) *

, ''Pushing the Envelope'' (Gramavision) * Ken Schaphorst, Over the Rainbow—Music of Harold Arlen (Accurate) * Peter Scharli Special Sextet, ''Blues for the Beast'' (Enja) * Peter Scharli Special Sextet, ''Guilty'' (Enja) *

Roman Schwaller Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

Nonet, ''The Original Tunes'' (JHM) * Vern Sielert Dectet, ''From there to Here'' (Pony Boy) * Burkhard Stangl/Ned Rothenberg/Werner Dafeldecker/Max Nagl/Tom Varner, ''Qui.t'' (Extraplatte) * Ton-Art, ''Mal Vu, Mal Dit'' (Hat Art) *

Vienna Art Orchestra The Vienna Art Orchestra was a European jazz group based in Vienna, Austria. Organized at different times as either a big band or as a smaller combo, it was regarded as one of the leading European jazz ensembles and was an official cultural ambas ...

, ''Artistry in Rhythm'' (TCB) * Bobby Watson, ''Tailor Made'' (Columbia) * John Zorn '' Filmworks 1986–1990'' (Elektra Nonesuch)

References

External links

Tom Varner's site

by Frank Tafuri
Heaven and Hell info
{{DEFAULTSORT:Varner, Tom Avant-garde jazz musicians 1957 births Living people American jazz horn players Musicians from Seattle City College of New York alumni People from Morristown, New Jersey CIMP artists Cornish College of the Arts faculty New England Conservatory alumni Orange Then Blue members