You don't often hear French horn in jazz. But Tom Varner (whose New Seattle Quintet performed Wednesday night at Tula's as part of the Earshot Jazz Festival, which continues through Sunday) strips the instrument of its traditional classical dress and makes something new of it. In a blindfold test, you might mistake Varner's horn for a trombone: a ringing tenor tone with fuzzy edges, warm enough to contrast with the cold metal in Mark Taylor's alto—that's Mark Taylor the saxophone player, not Mark Taylor the French horn player. more ›