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Modus Factor

MODUS FACTOR
:: CHRIS LESSO - drums | www.ChrisLesso.com
:: BROWNMAN ALI - electric trumpet | www.Brownman.com
:: IAN DE SOUZA - electric bass

MODUS FACTOR is a Toronto, Canada based modern electric groove trio led by in-demand session drummer CHRIS LESSO and features multiple National Jazz Award-winning trumpet player BROWNMAN ALI and Juno- winning Sisters Euclid bassist IAN DE SOUZA. The trio's tagline is "electro-ambient improvisational bedlam", which befits their live show well. BUT, interestingly, this debut recording "The Picasso Zone" is less about mayhem, and more about nuance. Deep interaction and collective musical interplay is the name of the game on "The Picasso Zone". With more than 75% of the recording being improvised, this album is an outstanding, high-minded example of the musical richness that can come from 3 kindred artists when they all create together and move in a singular direction as improvisers. By making enough room for each other, the creations presented on this recording are greater than the sum of the individual parts.

"Though I've seen Modus Factor often categorize themselves as 'world music', I think a much more accurate description of them would be 'OTHER world music'. It's off-worldly and alien and weird and wonderful in all the best possible ways."
— Paul Delong, drum icon (from The Picasso Zone’s liner notes)

Modus Factor’s “The Picasso Zone” was produced by the Brooklyn / Toronto based jazz trumpet player BROWNMAN ALI (protege to Randy Brecker) and signed to Brownman's record label in 2015. The label is now widely regarded as a vanguard for new and visionary talent in the evolution of Jazz in Canada.

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6
Album Review

Modus Factor: The Picasso Zone

Read "The Picasso Zone" reviewed by Franz A. Matzner


Hollow, reverberant trumpet. Electric grooves. Ambient undertones. Infectious bass. Slippery electronic textures mixed with lithe improvisational flights. Modus Factor's debut The Picasso Zone is a stellar example of modern jazz's hybrid nature as well as the creative surge coming out of Canada's jazz scene of late.Conceived by drummer Chris Lesso and featuring Brownman Ali on electric trumpet and Ian de Souza on bass and effects, Modus Factor belongs firmly to the Miles Davis electric period branch of jazz. ...

14
Album Review

Modus Factor: The Picasso Zone

Read "The Picasso Zone" reviewed by Dave Wayne


Versatiity is the key to the musical success of The Picasso Zone by the multi-national, polystylistic electric jazz trio Modus Factor. Based in Toronto, Modus Factor is comprised of Canadian drummer (and putative bandleader) Chris Lesso, trumpeter Brownman Ali--originally from Trinidad--and Uganada- born bassist Ian De Souza. Clearly, these guys' diverse origins contributed to their abiding interest in a broad swath of musical genres which, in turn, truly enriches the music on The Picasso Zone. Though hip- hop, funk, electronica, ...

11
Album Review

Modus Factor: The Picasso Zone

Read "The Picasso Zone" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


Modus Factor, a trio based in jny: Toronto, says it creates “Electro ambient improvisational bedlam." An accurate description of their sound except, perhaps, for the bedlam part (for the most part). Featuring a drums/bass/electric trumpet line-up, with effects, the comparisons that come to mind are Nils Petter Molvaer's spacey approach on sets like Switch (OKeh Record, 2014) and Buoyancy (OKeh Records, 2016). And speaking of bedlam, a line could be drawn to trumpeter Cuong Vu's steroidal ambience. But ...

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"Though I've seen Modus Factor often categorize themselves as 'world music', I think a much more accurate description of them would be 'OTHER world music'. It's off-worldly and alien and weird and wonderful in all the best possible ways."
— Paul Delong, drum icon (from The Picasso Zone’s liner notes)

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

The Picasso Zone

Browntasaurus Records
2017

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The Picasso Zone

Browntasauras Records
2016

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Brownian Motion

From: The Picasso Zone
By Modus Factor

Videos

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