The Mystery of Compassion is an album by American jazz French horn player and composer Tom Varner recorded in 1992 and released on the Italian Soul Note label.

[1] The AllMusic review by Brian Olewnick awarded the album 4 stars stating "Varner's ensemble offers up fascinating music that straddles the borders between jazz and an urban mix with a root or two in noir soundtracks, world music, and who knows what else.

The Mystery of Compassion is a must for fans of the jazzier edges of the downtown New York scene".

[2] The authors of the Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings awarded the album 4 stars, and wrote: "Varner's alarming juxtapositions make coherent sense without losing their capacity to surprise, and the players involved respond with a passionate intensity which is rare even among these driven musicians.

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