Tom Varner

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Tom Varner

Thomas "Tom" Varner (* 17th June 1957 in Morristown , New Jersey ) is an American jazz - horn player , arranger and composer of avant-garde jazz .

Life

Tom Varner first learned the piano at the age of ten and learned to play the French horn during his school days when he discovered jazz and especially Julius Watkins as a role model for himself. In 1979 he completed his music studies at the New England Conservatory of Music , where he a. a. studied with Ran Blake , George Russell and Jaki Byard and obtained a Masters degree from City College of New York in 2005 . In 1978 he had a quartet in Boston , which also included Ed Jackson , and played songs by Thelonious Monk and Ornette Coleman as well as his own compositions.

Varner moved to New York in 1979 and then worked in the 1980s and 1990s with numerous musicians on the local jazz scene such as Dave Liebman , John Zorn , Bobby Watson , Miles Davis / Quincy Jones , Bobby Previte , Jim McNeely , McCoy Tyner , but also with Steve Lacy , George Gruntz or La Monte Young and worked on over 70 albums. He has also recorded a number of albums under his own name since the early 1980s, on which musicians such as Steve Wilson, Tony Malaby , Ed Jackson, Ellery Eskelin , Tom Rainey , Cameron Brown , Drew Gress , Matt Wilson , Kenny Barron , Victor Lewis , Fred Hopkins and Billy Hart contributed. With Rich Rothenberg and Jim Hartog (from the 29th Street Saxophone Quartet ) he formed the formation East Down Septet and recorded the album Out of Gridlock in 1994, in which he pays tribute to models such as Bob Brookmeyer and Julius Watkins. In his compositions, Varner uses influences a. a. by Charles Mingus , but also by the European avant-garde composers Alban Berg and Anton Webern . Tom Varner has lived in Seattle since 2005 .

Awards

Varner was listed among the top ten musicians of his instrument in the Down Beat's annual critic poll . He has also received numerous awards, such as B. from the National Endowment for the Arts . His albums The Mystery of Compassion , Martian Heartache , The Window Up Above and Second Communion were awarded the highest rating of four stars by Richard Cook and Brian Morton.

Discographic notes

  • 1981: Tom Varner Quartet ( Soul Note )
  • 1983: Motion / Stillness (Soul Note)
  • 1985/1997: 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)
  • 2015: Nine Surprises (Tom Varner Music)

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Varner, Tom
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Varner, Thomas
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American jazz musician
DATE OF BIRTH June 17, 1957
PLACE OF BIRTH Morristown , New Jersey