Peter Welker Sextet featuring Jeff Oster

Welker, the only child of parents who were both working jazz musicians in New York and Boston, first picked up the trumpet at the age of nine. He credits his mother as being the major influence on his life and music career. "She really inspired me," Welker said. "Born blind, she sang on the coast-to-coast Camel Caravan show with Al Pearce and His Gang from 1935 to 1939. " After studying at Berklee College of Music, Welker moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. He led a sextet which was the house band at the famed Jazz Workshop in North Beach from 1961 to 1965 and featured piano player George Duke.

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He has toured and/or recorded with the likes of Van Morrison, Santana, Cold Blood, Jesse Colin Young, Buddy Miles and Dr. John. He has been nominated for a Bammie (Bay Area Music Awards) in the Best Horn Player category. Welker's horn section, Horns 'R Us, has often been hired to back touring Soul/R&B acts such as the Temptations, the Four Tops and Smokey Robinson. The horn section is on a newly released CD produced by Bob Dylan, The Songs of Jimmie Rodgers: A Tribute. The guest artists include Jerry Garcia, Aaron Neville, Van Morrison, Bono (of U2),John Mellencamp and Willie Nelson. Welker led the horn section of super-producer Narada Michael Walden's two-week all-star tour of Japan in 1995, in a band that featured Joe Zawinul and Patti Austin. His previous album, Para "Peachy," an eclectic mix of jazz, R&B and salsa, was released in 1997 on Take One Records. Phil Elwood of the San Francisco Examiner called it "one of the greatest recordings ever made, produced and played by Bay Area musicians."

Jeffrey Walter Oster was born February 17, 1951 in San Francisco, California. His jazz roots run deep. Coming from a musical family, Jeff has been singing and playing trumpet since he was eight years old. His parents were both performers. His mother was a big band vocalist and his father was a jazz composer, arranger,  music educator, and  multi-instrumentalist. His uncle Otto played trombone in the Las Vegas show bands for more than 40 years. Jeff has been lead vocalist and has played trumpet, flugelhorn, and flute with several bands in the San Francisco Bay Area over the years.

After taking a long, nearly twenty-year, break from the music scene to raise his family, Jeff has returned to performing jazz. Since his return, he has performed exclusively as a vocalist, featured with the Peter Welker Sextet. "I feel so fortunate to be in the company of so many wonderful musicians. The guys in the band are always world class. I'm having a gas! I feel right at home," says the beaming Oster.

Jeff Oster uses his voice like an instrument, as evidenced by his unique scat style. "I approach the melody and scatting as if I were playing it on the horn. In regards to the melody or chorus of a given song, I always want to make sure the words - of the story - are clearly understood. Being predominately a "note" guy for so long, I've made great efforts to enunciate and communicate the lyric. It's always been a tug-of-war between words and music for me, and a bit of a challenge at times... . But, hey, it's JAZZ and I'm having fun! What a high! There's nothing like it."

Jeff released his first CD, Shining Hour, in June 2009 on the "Jazzed Media" label. It was a project he and trumpeter, arranger, and producer Peter Welker artfully crafted, along with a group of musicians known as "The Oster/Welker Jazz Alliance." Oster says, "This first album I dedicated to my wonderful wife Sherri. Without her encouragement, I probably would not have wandered close enough for Peter to grapple me into the jazz pit that I'm in today! LOL!"

"October 2009 marked the start of our next project. We are looking for a new CD to be released around April or May 2010. We are VERY excited!!"

Jeff's biggest influences have been Mel Torme for his light, smooth treatments of the melody; Jon Hendrix for his red-hot bebop; Sarah Vaughan for her incredible tonal flexibility and range; Peter Welker, John Coltrane, Lee Morgan, and Bill Evans for their innovative outside jazz stylizations; and Woody Herman's big bands of the 60s for their driving SWING!

Jeff's Website