Product Description
ORIGINAL RELEASE DATE 4/14/15 Often described as Miles Davis meets Pink Floyd, trumpet/flugelhorn artists Jeff Oster is set to releasee his fourth album, Next. With Next, youll hear his unmistakeable tone floating over these 12 new tracks like never before.
Track Listing: 1. Next (Feat. Nile Rodgers) 2. Right Train To Sofia 3. Gardens of Varanasi 4. Turn Left at San Pancho 5. I Cant Make You Love Me 6. On Mothers Day 7. Half a Cookie 8. Ibiza Surise 9. Avenue D 10. The Mystery of B 11. Heroes (feat. Jeff Taboloff) 12. And We Dance
Review
Ever think of what it would sound like if Pink Floyd joined forces with Miles Davis? Well that is the sound of Jeff Oster as people described him over the years. Personally I love both of those artists, they were building blocks to our musical legacy and idolized by generations of listeners.
Jeff Oster is an acclaimed trumpet and flugelhorn player that has been bestowed many honors over his career. After giving his new release Next a good listen I can understand why. Somehow he has been able to take jazz, funk, ambient and new age and make it a unique and compelling sound all his own.
As the curtain opens with the title track Oster starts things off in the right way giving the music the direction it needs to capture a listener. Nile Rodgers (Chic) adds his smooth and funky guitar lines to the soothing sounds produced by Jeff s horn. It just could not have started any better.
As the man says- If you want to know truly who I am, listen to my horn. I think that sums it up in one statement and trust me it plays out just like that on Next. Jeff s flugelhorn and trumpet are brought to the forefront of the music by the talented production hands of Will Ackerman from Imaginary Road Studios. It was mixed by the capable hands of Tom Eaton and then mastered by Bob Ludwig.
The combination of smooth jazz and new age is a compatible marriage of sound and without sounding clich; it s like chicken soup for the soul, musically speaking. It s quite beautiful and picturesque. This music allows you to shape and mold the pictures in your mind s eye and I can guarantee it will be the most pleasant journey.
Gardens of Varanasi invokes a spiritual atmosphere, like an invite to heaven this track leads you down the path to enlightenment. With purpose and direction the music sets you at ease and gives you comfort.
What I found interesting was the fact that you don't have to necessarily be a fan of new age or jazz to find enjoyment with this release. I think the overall presentation has something to offer everyone.
It was a challenge to choose three key standout tracks because each one was impressive in its own right. My personal tastes were a perfect fit for getting into this album; I love jazz, all kinds and new age as well so it was like putting on my pants every day, it fit.
I Can't Make You Love Me is a delicate and beautiful outreach to that special someone, an invitation to see the other party as they truly are and decide if choosing to be by their side would feel right. If the music has anything to do with that, I am sure the answer would be yes. Everything about the track, the piano, horn, drums and bass invite you in and make you feel right at home, like you belong.
In essence all of Jeff Oster s music is special like that. He has created a masterpiece of instrumental bliss. Next slides down into your soul like your favorite ice cream on a hot summer day. You feel satisfaction and complete joy. This is relaxation and satisfaction taken to the next level.
I am certain this recording will receive its share of attention before the year is through.
--Keith Hannalek (New Age Music Review)
Quick, can you name your top three favorite ambient flugelhorn players? If you're like most people, the answer is probably no. All of which gives Jeff Oster, who also plays trumpet, a distinction that not many others can claim.
As I wrote in my feature article on Jeff"s previous album, Surrender: While there is some precedent for this with artists like Mark Isham, Jon Hassell, David Hoffman, and even Miles Davis (particularly on his classic In A Silent Way album and subsequent electric period, Jeff is charting new sonic territory in his expansion of these instruments into a context of electronica, down-tempo grooves, and loop based electro-orchestral tracks.
On next, Jeff has assembled what can only be called an all-star cast. While that phrase is often overused and could be seen as hype, Jeff has the names to justify it. In addition to some of the great new age artists on the album, which I ll mention in a minute, Jeff has enlisted a trio of the most famous studio musicians in the music industry to play on his album.
Up first is guitarist/ producer Nile Rodgers, who first became known with the R&B group Chic, and later went on to play with Madonna, David Bowie, Diana Ross and many others, as well as being a prolific A-list producer. He was also recently featured as a music industry mentor on American Idol. Playing drums on next is Bernard Purdie, who holds the title as The World s Most Recorded Drummer. His credits include Aretha Franklin, James Brown, B.B. King, Hall & Oates, Miles Davis, the Rolling Stones, and Ray Charles to name but a very few. It has even been written that he overdubbed some of the drum tracks on early Beatles recordings. Holding down the bass on Jeff s album is Chuck Rainey who has played on literally hundreds of sessions including Steely Dan, Marvin Gaye, Jackson Browne, Bette Midler, Joe Walsh, and numerous well known jazz artists. And the above-listed credits for these three artists barely begin to scratch the surface of their resumes. If this isn't the rhythm section made in heaven, I don't know what is.
With regard to the aforementioned new age musicians, many of whom are frequent contributors at Imaginary Road Studios the list is also quite impressive. Among them are bassist Tony Levin (who tours with Peter Gabriel), fretless bass maestro Michael Manring, guitarists Will Ackerman, Todd Boston, Shambhu, and Carl Weingarten, pianists Philip Aaberg and Catherine Marie Charlton, and recent GRAMMY award winner Ricky Kej on synthesizers. This being only a partial list.
The album was recorded at a number of different studios, foremost of which was Will Ackerman s famous Imaginary Road Studios, and included top engineer/ producer Tom Eaton who also played keyboards, bass, and percussion, as he does on so many of the sessions he works on with Will. In addition, Tom did a fantastic job on mixing this recording not an easy task, considering how many tracks and musicians it includes.
And to truly put the icing on the cake, the album was mastered by legendary mastering engineer Bob Ludwig, whose credits range from Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, and The Who, to Tony Bennett, Mariah Carey, and Paul McCartney, and many more.
While this feature article, thus far, reads like a Who's Who of the music industry, and as they say, if you ve got it, flaunt it. The fact that Jeff was able to magnetize such high level artistry to his project speaks volumes about the quality and creativity of his music and his stature in the music world. This recording is a remarkable achievement that furthers Jeff Oster s stature as one of the foremost musicians of the genre.
--Michael Diamond (Music and Media Focus)
One good thing about 2015 is that nothing means anything anymore. Music is completely amorphous hip teens from Omaha slow down elevator music and invent vaporwave. Fat little white kids appropriate the hip-hop vernacular and end up on World Star. Even the indie rock wimps make black metal now. You can pretty much do whatever you want. When Mac Demarco rips off Barry Manilow and bros mosh to it in sold-out venues, you know that the concept of "Cool Music" is gone.
Jeff Oster's music is not "Cool," at least not in the sense we're talking about. The critically-acclaimed smooth jazz trumpet player may be beloved in some circles, but those circles don't have a lot of overlap with VICE's audience.
But this is 2015...Jeff Oster's music is fantastic, and the title track for his new album is a tight, minimalist, New Age haze of a tune where trumpets drone over a slow and funky beat. The song features guitarist Nile Rodgers, who's worked with Daft Punk and David Bowie, among others, in case that name drop will make you a little more comfortable listening to this.
Put on the song, align your chakras, rub your nipples with spirit crystals, and just...relax for once. Jeff Oster looks like your friend's dad who wore a fedora and hit the grav bong too hard but who knew that guy could also blow a mean-ass horn?
--Charlie Ambler (Vice Premiere)
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- Package Dimensions : 5.47 x 4.88 x 0.31 inches; 2.12 ounces
- Manufacturer : Retso Records
- Original Release Date : 2015
- Date First Available : March 24, 2015
- Label : Retso Records
- Country of Origin : USA
- Number of discs : 1
