Chill Factor 5

smoothjazz.com smoothlounge.com
CHILL FACTOR- 5 Sun Flower Jazz Electronfarm Records

One of the most exciting nu music ensembles of the decade… bridging the gap between live instrumentation and modern electronica which involves real, improvised jazz solos and rich, sophisticated textures with urban and world influences. Electronfarm Records and Chill Factor-5 were born as the new concept going forward.
SUN FLOWER JAZZ continues the search into new realms of ethnotrance an ambient grooves. According to these two modern primitives, “we use Spiritual as our guide and traditional ethnic music as our base.”
Maurice implements a well-crafted assortment of styles on SUN FLOWER JAZZ… deep, stimulating and relaxing is what you’ll take away from this brilliant audio excursion. Chill Factor-5 is on the precipice of the Nu Music movement and in fact, leading the way in organic, spiritual renderings of what we like to think of as higher-consciousness music composition. We recommend purchasing the ENTIRE album as it is truly a journey from start to finish offering a similar experience to Buddha-Bar and Café Del Mar compilations. You won’t be disappointed!
- Smoothjazz.com, smoothlounge.com

Sun Flower Jazz Sun Flower Jazz
Digital Only / Aug 03-2007 ... Comments (1)

Get it: Find it at iTunes Find it at eMusic Find it at GEMM

If this is chill, you can put me in the freezer right now. Maurice Oliver has seventy-five minutes here that is ice-cool. It's not jazz, although you can feel its influence, and "Sun Flower" doesn't fit either. This is late night, urban music, with sophisticated keyboards and beats that are upfront but not jarring or annoying.
There are a wide range of styles and influences at play (along with a healthy number of recognizable sample loops) from Jazz, polyrhythmic African and Latin beats, to tropical whistles, Spanish guitar, soulful vocals, keyboards (including electric piano and many synths), and even a touch of the blues in "Down the Delta".

The moods vary too, from the jazzy muted trumpet and slow rhythm of "The Lake Effects (nite time mix)" to the energetic vocals, electric piano, and funky beat of "The New Sound".

It all fits together with a smooooooth feel and upbeat melodies. The title of the second song is "Knowledge (everything is music)", and if that's true, this is the place to learn.

~ Dave Howell - Properley Chilled

A Heartbeat Away A Heartbeat Away
CD / May 03-2005

Get it: Find it at iTunes Find it at eMusic Find it at Amazon.com Find it at GEMM

With a sound that at times would have been completely at ease in the tracklists of Guidance Recordings' "Hi-Fidelity Lounge" series, and at other times perfectly suited for the "Buddha Bar" series, this album is definitely a surprise. Suffice to say you don't want to judge this book (too much) by its cover.
Bleeker Street" gets things started with a laid-back Latin rhythm, under luch synth pads and soft horns, which are accented by the occasional (and alternating) crooning male and female vocal loops. It's a little bit jazzy, a little bit African and Latin, and held together nicely by slow beats and a lyrical, analog synth lead.

"When I Was 4" steps in with acoustic guitar and a mid-tempo beat leading funky, jazz keys and horns. The vocal loops could have been a little less prominent, but don't spoil the mix as they are. "South Ferry 3 AM Mix" could have been a nice nu jazz styled, dubby vocal joint, but I'm not sure why it has squealing tire and Harley-Davidson motorcycle samples in it.

"Fez (sundown mix)" consists of mellow breaks, winding, analog synths, and scat-like male vocals joined by floating synth keys and a mash of stylized jazz and subtle African vibes.

"Eastern Breeze" makes a really nice impression with Asian/Indian flute and strings over shuffled breaks and warm synth keys, which, after a really nice bridge section are joined by muted jazz horns. This one definitely stands out in a nu-Eastern-jazz way. "Leidseplein Strut" is another strong standout with a very French styled nu jazz sound dressed in smooth beats, jazzy organ and horns, and funky synth keys. "Sunsets Possible Dreams" is nice ultra-mellow piece.

if you've got a taste for jazzy, downtempo grooves with an Afro-Latin and near-Eastern swing, you're bound to find some new jewels for your collection here on Chill Factor-5's "A Heartbeat Away". - Properley Chilled

Chill Factor-5
Chill Factor-5 - The Venus Effect The Venus Effect
by Andrew Frey
Review published: July 2009
Rating: 9

A contemporary musical hybrid helmed by world traveling, Grammy nominated multi instrumentalist Maurice Oliver. This treasure trove of chilled smooth electronica flirts adventurously with numerous musical combinations from the jazz, hip hop, pop, funk, soul and world beat realms.
- Maximum Ink

The Venus Effect is the name of the new record by electronica/ambient group, Chill Factor-5. The project is the brainchild of Maurice Oliver, a Harlem-born producer who has expertly blended elements of electronica, jazz, funk, fusion, and world beats into an Afro-centric mix of chilled downtempo. Chill Factor-5’s previous album, Sun Flower Jazz was even nominated for a Grammy® in the Electronic/Dance category. The new record promises to take the experimental ambition and musicianship to the next level, offering a feast of ambient tracks to chill out with.



The title track is a long, smooth journey through quasi-ambient melodies with light Afro-rhythmic percussion nicely balancing the synth drone. The rest of the record pulls together the disparate musical influences that Oliver picked up during his residency in Amsterdam and other travels. It’s a pastiche of styles and eras strung across a genre that begs for innovation. Chill Factor-5 delivers on much of that promise, and it’s not too out of left field to say that Chill Factor may garner another Grammy® award in 2009.


Maurice Oliver honed his musical talent at The Julliard School of Music In Manhattan. He studied orchestral percussion, majoring in tympani. He also worked with pioneers in the electronic music field. His commitment to collaboration is illustrated by the additional talent on The Venus Effect. Oliver is joined on this album by multi-instrumentalist Vinnie Zummo and vocalist Janice Zummo. The Zummos credits include work for TV shows, commercial, radio spots, and other artists including Paul Carrack and Roger Daltry.
- Blogtalk.com

Electronica Group Chill Factor-5 Returns With The Venus Effect The Venus Effect is the name of the new record by electronica/ambient group, Chill Factor-5. The project is the brainchild of Maurice Oliver, a Harlem-born producer who has expertly blended elements of electronica, jazz, funk, fusion, and world beats into an Afro-centric mix of chilled downtempo. Chill Factor-5 s previous album, Sun Flower Jazz was even nominated for a Grammy in the Electronic/Dance category. The new record promises to take the experimental ambition and musicianship to the next level, offering a feast of ambient tracks to chill out with. The title track is a long, smooth journey through quasi-ambient melodies with light Afro-rhythmic percussion nicely balancing the synth drone. The rest of the record pulls together the disparate musical influences that Oliver picked up during his residency in Amsterdam and other travels. It s a pastiche of styles and eras strung across a genre that begs for innovation. Chill Factor-5 delivers on much of that promise, and it s not too out of left field to say that Chill Factor may garner another Grammy award in 2009. Maurice Oliver honed his musical talent at The Julliard School of Music In Manhattan. He studied orchestral percussion, majoring in tympani. He also worked with pioneers in the electronic music field. His commitment to collaboration is illustrated by the additional talent on The Venus Effect. Oliver is joined on this album by multi-instrumentalist Vinnie Zummo and vocalist Janice Zummo. The Zummos credits include work for TV shows, commercial, radio spots, and other artists including Paul Carrack and Roger Daltry.
- http://blakslair.blogspot.com/2009/08/chill-factor-5.html