Tom Varner

In the realm of jazz, French horn soloists have remained scarce, yet even amid a larger field Tom Varner would stand among the foremost. He began piano lessons at eight, took up the French horn a year afterward, and first encountered recordings by his predecessor Julius Watkins at seventeen. Following graduation from the New England Conservatory, he relocated to New York in 1979. Since then he has issued several albums as leader, most of them on Soul Note, while performing alongside Dave Liebman, Bobby Watson, George Gruntz with his Concert Jazz Band, John Zorn, Steve Lacy, Lee Konitz, and Bobby Previte. In doing so Varner essentially rendered the demanding French horn a functional voice in modern jazz.