Tom Varner (born June 17, 1957) is an American jazz French horn player, composer, and educator from Morristown, New Jersey. He earned a B.M. from the New England Conservatory in 1979 and an M.A. from City College of New York in 2005. Varner studied under Ran Blake, George Russell, and Jaki Byard. He appeared as a sideman on over 70 albums, performing with Steve Lacy, Dave Liebman, Miles Davis, and Quincy Jones.Varner released his debut album, Tom Varner Quartet, in 1981. His discography as a leader includes Covert Action (1987), Martian Heartache (1997), Second Communion (2001), and Sound Vespers (2022). He received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Jack Straw Foundation, and Chamber Music America. Varner was ranked in the DownBeat Critics Poll Top Ten annually since the mid-1990s. In 2006, he relocated to Seattle, where he was appointed Associate Professor at Cornish College of the Arts.
