BLUE ETERNITY

Ambient music can often be fascinating for a variety of reasons, but there’s an extra layer of intrigue when it’s performed live.

That’s part of the appeal of the quartet known as Blue Eternity. Made up of trumpet/flugelhorn player Jeff Oster, bassist Michael Manring, electric guitarist Carl Weingarten, and Brazilian drummer/percussionist Celso Alberti, a Blue Eternity live show unfolds in an unhurried pace, like a slow motion jam.

Oster’s effect-laden trumpet sometimes sounds like a living, breathing synthesizer, as Manring has the lyrical side of his former teacher Jaco Pastorius down pat. Weingarten knows a thing or two about engendering celestial soundscapes himself, sometimes evoking Robert Fripp in his stylings. At the same time, he can use his guitar to counterpoint Oster’s other-worldly noises with the more grounded sounds of an electric guitar. Together, they build soft layers that can take many listens to get underneath. Add the Brazilian pulse of Alberti's percussion, and you have an evening of music not to be missed.

The other part of the appeal is the acumen of the players involved. Grammy-nominated Manring is a household name among the Windham Hill set, and he’s served as a key member in the new age bluegrass supergroup Montreux. Weingarten honed his prog rock chops in the group Delay Tactics before striking out on his own as an award winning solo artist with an experimental flair. Oster first made a splash in the 90s with a couple of award-laden collaborations with Windham Hill founder Will Ackerman (Released and True), and has applied both a classical and jazz background toward a trumpet that’s he’s learned to skillfully manipulate with loops and software aided sonic washes. Drummer Alberti's explosive, intuitive style is in high demand, working with artists such as Herbie Mann, Craig Chaquico, Airto Moreira, Flora Purim, Jose Neto, Andrei Kondakov and, most recently, the legendary Steve Winwood.

Jeff Oster describes his music as “Miles meets Pink Floyd.” Blue Eternity makes me think Jon Hassell meets Jaco and (the ambient side of) Buckethead. That’s a pretty lethal combination for ambient music

- from a review of BLUE ETERNITY by S. Victor Aaron (Something Else Reviews)

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