REVEREND ZEN
Angels, Blues & the Crying Moon
© 2006 Jack Evans / James Gerard (837101151498)
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REVEREND ZEN - rock/r&b/jazz - Song of the Year Effigy Awards Spain / Artist of the Year L.A. Music Awards / ASCAP Plus Award / Finalist Unisong International Song Contest / Finalist VH1 Song of the Year Contest / Finalist Nominee Australia Song Contest
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REVEREND ZEN / PRESS
"REVEREND ZEN’s debut album Angels, Blues & the Crying Moon is simply a very good record."
JOHN SCHOENBERGER - BILLBOARD's RADIO & RECORDS (LA)
"Great song writing, lyrics and arrangements by REVEREND ZEN."
PAUL OLUND - MSNBC.com’s INDEPENDENT STUDY / ARTIST'S YOU NEED TO KNOW (NYC)
"The album is one of the year’s most interesting and its overall excellence demands repeated listening. If you want some adventurous rock/jazz/r&b check out Angels, Blues & the Crying Moon by REVEREND ZEN."
RICHARD LUDMERER - DIRECTOR; NY BLUES & JAZZ SOCIETY (NYC)
ASCAP honors Jack Evans of REVEREND ZEN with a 2007/2008 ASCAP Plus Award for Artist of the Year, with four Best Song Nominations, in the 2007 Los Angeles Music Awards, for Song of the Year, with five Finalist Awards, from the 2007/2008 Effigy Awards in Spain, for two Finalist Awards in the 2007 Unisong International Song Contest and for a Finalist and five Runners Up Awards in the 2006 VH1 Song of the Year Contest, for their songs "Dangerous Times", "Magdalena", "Bad Attitude" "Don't Try To Tell Me", "Fingerprints" and "The Boston Shakedown".
ERIC FILLBROOK - ASCAP’s PLAYBACK MAGAZINE / STEPPING OUT (NYC)
REVEREND ZEN / BIO
2008 Finalist Nominee Australia Songwriting Contest (Sydney, Australia)
2008 Best Song Nominee Los Angeles Music Awards (LA)
2007/2008 Song of the Year Effigy Awards Fame Games ABC Radio Networks (NYC/Spain)
5 Finalist Awards 2007/2008 Effigy Awards Fame Games ABC Radio Networks (NYC/Spain)
2007/2008 ASCAP Plus Award Winner (NYC)
2007 Artist of the Year Los Angeles Music Awards (LA)
4 Best Song Nominations 2007 Los Angeles Music Awards (LA)
2007 Artist of the Year WCH Radio (St. Louis)
2 Finalist Awards 2007 Unisong International Song Contest (LA)
2006 Bronze Artist Award RGW Radio (Norfolk, U.K.)
2006 Finalist VH1 Song of the Year Contest (NYC/Houston)
5 Runner Up Awards 2006 VH1 Song of the Year Contest (NYC/Houston)
The New York based group Reverend Zen has released its independent, debut album, Angels, Blues & the Crying Moon, that is quickly garnering music industry acclaim around the world. A Finalist nominee in the 2008 Australian Songwriting Contest for "Bad Attitude", nominated for Best Song by the upcoming 2008 Los Angeles Music Awards for "Her Love", winning Song of the Year at Spain's 2007/2008 Effigy Awards for "The Boston Shakedown", recipients of a 2007/2008 ASCAP Plus Award in New York, named 2007 Artist of the Year by the Los Angeles Music Awards, along with two Finalist Awards from the 2007 Unisong International Song Contest in L.A. for "Magdalena" and "Bad Attitude" and a Finalist in the 2006 VH1 Song of the Year Contest in Houston for "Dangerous Times", the band seamlessly blends rock, blues and jazz into their own singular vision. VH1 comments, “Listening to these songs you’re drawn in by their unique, vivid mirrors of human nature and emotion. Their lyrics and arrangements have the power to make you remember both the songs and their performances. This music is straight from the heart, with stand out guitar that’s perfectly executed and first rate production.”
Such substance and precision has been honed over time with the band writing and recording the album over a ten year period. You’ll hear this dedication and attention to detail in each exacting lyric and every well executed chord change. “Bandleader Jack Evans blends strong song writing with obviously accomplished musicianship.” remarks Rich Lepescu of Nebula Music Magazine. These are always timeless qualities in music and Reverend Zen not only reminds us of Steely Dan’s cleverness and the grit of the blues but they also touch upon the lyrical introspection of the singer/songwriters. These traits and more are evident on the band’s slamming shuffle “The Boston Shakedown”, with its tales of lust, debauchery and a college education and in the dark beauty of love lost on “Don’t Try To Tell Me” and “The One In Love”.
Reverend Zen’s musical credentials are beyond question. The group’s musicians have a history of playing with the music greats, ranging from Eric Clapton and Bruce Springsteen to Sheryl Crow, Donald Fagen, B.B. King, Sting, John Scofield, Annie Lennox, Elvis Costello, Shawn Colvin and Stevie Wonder. The band’s sound pays tribute to these influences, but also pushes musical boundaries mixing the funk laden wit of “Bad Attitude” and the incredulous tales of a child prodigy on the slamming “Boy Genius", with the classic rock sound of “Magdalena” and it’s folk tale of love found.
“Our influences span several genres,” says Mr. Evans, who names Miles Davis, James Brown, Joni Mitchell, Steely Dan, Ray Charles, Wayne Shorter and Claude Debussy among their favorites. “Still all of them inspire us with their spirit, eloquence and craft. They all seem to express themselves with conviction and humanity.” He concludes. Strands of Debussy and Mitchell can be heard flowing through Reverend Zen’s impressionistic ballad of love in question, “Only A Fool”, with the band again bridging musical idioms.
Such rich musical backgrounds coupled with their distinctive writing has helped Reverend Zen quickly gain a reputation for thought provoking lyrics and no holds barred rhythms. Those qualities are never more evident than on their rocking, National Enquirer like adventures of an amusing psychotic and his psychiatrist “My Sigmund Freud”, on “Her Love”, their haunting portrait of a woman’s emotional damage and on "Dangerous Times", their thought provoking analogy of the Wild West to current events in America and the world.
It’s music for the thinking man’s head. Critics around the globe seem to agree. To date the genre stretching band has received thirty-four awards in the ac, aaa, rock, r&b, blues, jazz, lyric and performance categories of the VH1 and Unisong Contests, the Billboard World Song Contest in New York, the Mid Atlantic Song Contest in Washington, D.C. and the U.K.'s Singer/Songwriter Awards in London. In 2006 Reverend Zen received RGW Radio's Bronze Artist Award in Norfolk, England and in late 2007 they were named Artist of the Year by WCH Radio in St. Louis. After receiving four Best Song nominations in the Adult Contemporary Artist and Blues Categories of the Los Angeles Music Awards, they were named 2007 Blues Artist of the Year by LAMA.
Earlier this year Mr. Evans was the recipient of a prestigious 2007/2008 ASCAP Plus Award, Jazz & Popular Music Division in New York. After receiving five Finalist Awards, as well Blues/Rock Song of the Year and Blues/Rock Artist of the Year nominations from ABC Radio Networks Fame Games' Effigy Awards, Reverend Zen's "The Boston Shakedown" was named Blues/Rock Song of the Year at the 2007/2008 Effigy Awards ceremony in Malaga, Spain. In May the band's "Her Love" was nominated for Best Song in the AAA category of the 2008 Los Angeles Music Awards, which take place November 20th at the Music Box Theatre in L.A. In July Reverend Zen's "Bad Attitude" received a Finalist nomination for "Bad Attitude" in the International category of the 2008 Australian Music Awards taking place in Sydney this August.
Resumes and platitudes aside Reverend Zen’s true genius lies in its music, and Angels, Blues & the Crying Moon is everything a great album should be, melodies that hang in your head like an old friend, lyrics of wit, introspection and cultural commentary, dead on drum tracks, bad ass guitar solos and subtleties that slowly reveal themselves.
Ten years in the making, Angels, Blues, & the Crying Moon was worth the wait and is now taking Reverend Zen’s mix of rock, r&b and jazz to the world stage.
REVEREND ZEN / MUSICIANS
Jack Evans - lead vocals, background vocals, keyboards, drums, percussion, co writer, arranging.
Rob Aries - keyboards (John Scofield, Donald Harrison, Bill Evans, Dennis Chambers, Creed Taylor, Freddie Jackson).
Kjell Benner - bass (Patti La Belle, Arlen Roth).
Chris Carter - guitar (Art Neville, Solomon Burke, Dr. John, Taj Mahal, NYC's Uptown Horns Revue, Joan Osborne).
Margaret Dorn - background vocals (Michael McDonald, Celine Dion, Boz Scaggs, Diana Ross, Donald Fagen).
Rudy Feinauer - drums (George Russell, Jimmy Guiffre, David Mann, Syndicate of Soul).
James Gerard - keyboards, bass, co writer, arranging.
Sheryl Marshall - background vocals (John Medeski, NYC’s Uptown Horns Revue, RuPaul, Buster Poindexter).
Nick Moroch - guitar (David Sanborn, Donald Fagen, Chaka Khan, Dennis Chambers, Madonna, Bob James, Luther Vandross).
Gil Parris - guitar (Bob James, David Mann, Dr. John, David Sanborn, Toni Braxton, Paul Schaeffer, Syndicate of Soul).
Kip Sophos - bass (Nile Rodgers, Bob James, Chuck Loeb, David Mann).
Vannese Thomas - background vocals (Sting, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Stevie Wonder, Luther Vandross, Annie Lennox, Joe Cocker, John Mayer, Sheryl Crow, Pearl Jam, Donald Fagen, John Scofield, Aretha Franklin)
Soozie Tyrell - background vocals (Bruce Springsteen, Sheryl Crow, Elvis Costello, John Hammond, Shawn Colvin).
Chris Vitarello - guitar (Jimmy McGriff, Arlen Roth, Roxy Perry).
reviews
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Angels, Blues & the Crying Moon
author: Michael L. TourvilleThe music is original and unique. It's kind of a mix between Steely Dan and Edwin McCain. I think I'll like it more as I listen to it.
Reverend Zen strikes a fresh chord with every song
author: Sally O'BrienMagdalena is a wonderous friend, The Boston Shakedown is one naughty temptation, and Her Love is so restrained. This cd rocks; you'll listen to it again and again.