| Biography
Check out the latest awards ceremony for independent
music and you'll likely find Reverend Zen named among
the nominees or winners. Since the release of their
debut cd the rock, blues, jazz group has continuously
garnered critical acclaim, receiving 70 music
industry awards from around the world. John Schoenberger
of Billboard's Radio and Records in Los Angeles reflects
on the band's success stating, "Reverend Zen's
Angels, Blues & the Crying Moon is simply a very
good record."
Winning
2007/08 Song of the Year from ABC Radio Networks Fame
Games Effigy Awards in Costa del Sol, Spain for "The
Boston Shakedown", along with five Finalist Awards,
is just a start.
Those were followed by a 2008/09 Effigy Awards Artist of the Year Nomination and seven Finalist Awards. Finally, the band was honored as Artist of the Year Nominees, Song of the Year Nominees for "Boy Genius", along with nine Finalist Awards by 2009/10's Effigy Awards. 2007 saw Reverend Zen receive four Best
Song Nominations from Hollywood's Los Angeles Music
Awards for "The Boston Shakedown", "Bad
Attitude", "Don't Try to Tell Me" and
"Dangerous Times". The genre stretching
band was subsequently named L.A. Music Award's 2007
Artist of the Year, with "Bad Attitude"
named 2007 Song of the Year. More kudos followed as
"Her Love" and "Bad Attitude"
received Best Song Nominations from 2008's L.A. Music
Awards and 2008's Toronto Exclusive Magazine Awards
respectively. The group concluded the year named recipients
of 2008's Golden Wave Artist of the Year Award in
Denver.
More European accolades followed as Reverend Zen's "Dangerous Times" received a 2008 Finalist nod from France's 100% Song Contest in Paris. In London the group took home five Runners' Up Awards from 2008's BBC sponsored UK Song Contest. Around the world in Sydney the band was a Finalist Nominee in both the 2008 and 2009 Australia Song Contest for "Bad Attitude" and "Her Love". Meanwhile, back in the United States the group's "Bad Attitude", "Magdalena", "My Sigmund Freud" and "Boy Genius" all received Finalist Awards from the 2007/08 and 2008/09 Unisong International Song Contest in Los Angeles. Along the way there were multiple
awards from 2006's Billboard World Song Contest in
New York, 2006's Mid Atlantic Song Contest in Washington,
D.C. and 2007's Singer-Songwriter Awards in London.
Add to those WCH Radio's 2007 Artist of the Year Award
in St. Louis and RGW Radio's 2006 Bronze Artist Award
in Norfolk, U.K., but the list is still incomplete.
From 2008-2012 Reverend Zen bandleader-composer Jack Evans was the recipient of five prestigious ASCAP Plus Awards - Jazz & Popular Music Division in New York. Preceding those honors, the group
received five Runners Up Awards in 2006's VH1 Song
of the Year Contest in Houston, as "Dangerous
Times" was named a 2006-VH1 Finalist. The VH1
panel remarked, "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 has stand out guitar that's
perfectly executed and first rate production. Above
all this music is straight from the heart."
For
Reverend Zen such substance and precision were honed
over time, with the band writing and recording Angels,
Blues & the Crying Moon over a ten-year period.
You'll hear this dedication and attention to detail
in each exacting lyric and every well-executed chord
change. "Great songwriting, lyrics and arrangements
from Reverend Zen." Comments Paul Olund of MSNBC.com's
Independent Study - Artists You Need to Know. 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 introspection of the singer-songwriters. These
traits and more are evident on the group's slamming
shuffle "The Boston Shakedown", with its
tale 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 John Mayer, Eric Clapton,
Bruce Springsteen, Sheryl Crow, Donald Fagen, John
Scofield and Annie Lennox to B.B. King, Stevie Wonder,
Aretha Franklin and Sting. The band's sound pays tribute
to these influences, but also pushes musical boundaries
mixing the funk laden wit of "Bad Attitude"
and "Boy Genius", with the classic rock
sound of "Magdalena" and its angelic tale
of love found.
"Our
influences span several genres." States Mr. Evans.
"Miles Davis, James Brown, Joni Mitchell, Steely
Dan, Wayne Shorter and Claude Debussy is among our
favorites. All of them inspire us with their spirit,
eloquence and craft. They just seem to express themselves
with conviction and humanity.". Strands of Ms.
Mitchell and Mr. Debussy can be heard flowing through
Reverend Zen's impressionistic ballad of love in question,
"Only a Fool" with the New York group 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 and more are evident on the rocking
"My Sigmund Freud", their National Inquirer
like adventures of an amusing psychotic and his psychiatrist,
on "Her Love" their haunting portrait of
a woman's emotional damage and on "Dangerous
Times" their analogy of the Wild West to current
events in America and the world. It's music for the
thinking man's head indeed.
Not
only the music industry, but listeners around the
world are discovering Reverend Zen with the band receiving
air play and coverage in North and South America,
the Middle East, Australia, Japan and Europe. Paul
Sedowski, CEO of Meer Music International's Fame Games
show, broadcast on Spain's Onda Cero Radio Network
to audiences in the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia,
and in the United States on the ABC Radio Network
remarks, "Reverend Zen has gone and rocked our
station totally and put big smiles on our faces. They
sound like a killer band that's tight, full of energy
and swing, highly accomplished and credible."
Global
platitudes aside Reverend Zen's true genius lies in
its music with lyrics of wit, introspection and cultural
commentary, melodies that live on in your memory like
old friends, 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 to the world stage.
REVEREND ZEN - The Songs of Angels, Blues & the
Crying Moon
"Magdalena" (Unisong Finalist - Lyrics,
VH1 Runner Up - AC/AAA & Lyrics, Billboard Award)and
it's classic rock sound opens Angels, Blues &
the Crying Moon with sweeping keyboards and a majestic
chorus. It's the story of a loner's encounter with
an angel. "The song was written as a folk tale
of sorts about truth, trust and dreams." remarks
singer/lyricist Jack Evans. James Gerard adds organ
and synths. Chris Carter and Gil Parris are on guitar.
"I was sleeping on a cloud/ When an angel awakened
me/ With the warm gentle voice/ Of a heavenly breeze/
She said, I'm Magdalena/ I've come to speak with you/
And whatever words are spoken/ We shall always speak
the truth".
"Bad
Attitude" (Toronto Exclusive Magazine Awards
Best Song Nominee - International AC, ABC Radio's
Fame Games Effigy Awards Finalist, Australia Song
Contest Finalist Nominee - LA Music Awards Song of
the Year - Blues, Unisong Finalist - Blues, UK Song
Contest Semi Finalist, Billboard, VH1, UK's Singer-Songwriter
Awards, France's 100% Song Contest Award) is funky
R&B, rock. It's a he said, she said take on a
cynic's bad luck and his lover's claim that all he
suffers from is a bad attitude. Black cats, aerodynamics
and a twelve ton truck all get involved. "It's
some classic "downer" sentiment with a few
twists.", relates Evans. The hot wired guitar
solo is by Chris Carter who's been called one of the
premier R&B guitarists in NYC by renowned studio
great Hugh McCracken. "Throw me a line my boat
sprung a leak/ I clutch my flask for a final drink/
A smiling shark is circling the bow/ With a little
luck I'll probably drown".
"Don't Try To Tell Me" (ABC Radio's Fame
Games Effigy Awards Finalist - 2007 LA Music Awards
Best Song Nominee - AC/AAA, VH1 Runner Up - AC/AAA,
Billboard Award - UK Song Contest Semi Finalist) is a solemn ballad dramatizing the
final encounter between two lovers. Denial, regret
and loss are all reflected. The lyrical, blues inflected
guitar solo is by Gil Parris (the Gil Parris Band,
Dr. John, Bob James, David Sanborn). The piano and
keyboard orchestration is by Evans' co writer on the
ten songs of Angels, Blues & the Crying Moon,
James Gerard. "Don't try to tell me it was all
a mistake/ Don't try to tell me that/ Don't try to
tell me sometimes love can fade/ Like we've just become
two passing strangers without names".
"The Boston Shakedown" (France's 100% Song
Contest Award - Song of the Year Effigy Awards Spain
- Blues/Rock, LA Music Awards Best Song Nominee -
AC/AAA, VH1 Runner Up - AC/AAA & Lyrics, Billboard,
Mid-Atlantic/SAW, Unisong Contest, France's 100% Song
Contest, UK Song Contest Awards) is a slamming, roguish
tale of higher education with a party girl who loves
underclassmen but always leaves them. There's props
to Marvin Gaye, the Red Sox and Stolichnaya. "Just
a bit of reminiscing about college days and Boston.",
smiles Evans. The bad ass guitar solo is by Nick Moroch
(David Sanborn, Chaka Khan, Donald Fagen). Rob Aries
(John Scofield, Freddy Jackson, Donald Harrison) is
on keyboards. The bass duties are handled by Kip Sophos
(Nile Rodgers, Chuck Loeb, David Mann) with Evans
on vocals and drums. "She's havin' another party
upstairs/ They're squealin' and laughin' in the August
heat/ With her trunk full of toys and contraband/
That young fool don't stand a chance".
"Only A Fool" (VH1 Award) is a bittersweet
ballad. "A friend was caught up in a relationship
that was very yin, yang. They were being held hostage
by their own emotions.", explains Evans. The
song highlights Rob Aries on piano and Gil Parris
on electric and acoustic guitar. Evans provides the
impressionistic keyboard orchestration. The background
vocals are by Margaret Dorn (Boz Scaggs, Michael McDonald,
Bette Midler) and Vaneese Thomas (Eric Clapton, Sting,
Stevie Wonder, Annie Lennox, Luther Vandross, Chaka
Khan, Pearl Jam, John Scofield, John Mayer). "Didn't
my love try to chase the demons from your heart/ Still
the wounds of your past are tearing us apart".
"My Sigmund Freud" (ABC Radio's Fame Games
Effigy Awards Finalist - Unisong Finalist: Novelty) rocks and rises up with no
holds barred rhythms and a unique look at our modern
society. It's the over the top adventures of an amusing
psychotic and the doctor he considers his savior.
A UFO, the Bronx Zoo and Joseph Cornell materialize
along the way. If Dr. Phil, Woody Allen and Frank
Zappa had started a rock band it might sound like
this. "The first three lines of the chorus are
lifted from an ad in the New York Post,", reveals
Evans. "The rest of the lyrics probably read
like the National Enquirer." Chris Carter returns
on guitar, James Gerard covers the keyboard tracks.
"Palpitations, shortness of breath/ A racing
heart, a fear of death/ Delusions of grandeur, loss
of control/ Last week I dreamed I was Axl Rose/ But
my doctor cures my ills/ With understanding and his
happy pills/ He's fillin' up my emotional void / He's
my savior, he's my Sigmund Freud".
"Her Love" (ABC Radio's Fame Games Effigy
Awards Finalist - LA Music Awards Best Song Nominee
- AAA, Billboard, VH1, UK's Singer-Songwriter Awards,
UK Song Contest Award - UK Song Contest, Australia Song Contest Semi Finalist Awards) tells us of a woman unable
to confront her demons, who sadly uses her beauty
and charm as power and control in this revealing character
study. "This one came together very quickly,"
says Evans. James had sketched out a lot of the music,
then I went home and wrote the lyrics the next day."
Gil Parris, called the brightest star of jazz/blues
guitar since Larry Carlton by Guitar One Magazine,
delivers a soaring, emotional solo against the back
drop of James Gerard's keyboards. "She listens
to his words and lets him feel she understands/ Her
replies are chosen so she can gain the upper hand/
She coolly plays the temptress as he gives himself
away/ She chooses her men cautiously, only the ones
she finds easy to leave".
"Dangerous Times" (ABC Radio's Effigy Awards
Finalist - France's 100% Song Contest Finalist - 2007
LA Music Awards Best Song Nominee - AC/AAA, France's
100% Song Contest Finalist - Performance, VH1 Finalist
- AC/AAA, UK's Singer-Songwriter Awards, Billboard,
Unisong, UK Song Contest Awards) with it's upbeat
sound is actually RZ's thought provoking, dark analogy
of the old Wild West to current events in America
and the world. Is this 1870's Deadwood or New York
in the year 2000? "It seems incomprehensible
to me how much misguided machismo and violence still
exist in what's called modern civilization.",
states Evans. James Gerard is again on keyboards while
Chris Carter returns on guitar. The background vocals
here are by Sheryl Marshall (John Medeski, Buster
Poindexter, Ru Paul, NYC's Uptown Horns) and Soozie
Tyrell (Bruce Springsteen, Sheryll Crow, Shawn Colvin,
Elvis Costello). "There's a line of mourners
and a mother's tears/ Nothin's changed around here
for a hundred years".
"Boy Genius" (ABC Radio's Effigy Awards Finalist & Best Song Nominee: Blues/Rock - ABC Radio's Fame Games Effigy
Awards Finalist - Unisong Finalist: Blues) gives us the incredulous tales of
a child prodigy. Balzac, Shakespeare and Camus are
all on his required reading list. Evans explains,
"The words and drum part came first. The lyrics
were partly inspired by an old Jodie Foster movie
called "Little Man Tate". Ideas for the
groove came from a Miles Davis song called Splatch
on his Tutu album." The song slams and rocks
with a hip hop bounce and a scorching guitar solo
by Chris Carter (the Chris Carter Band, Art Neville,
Taj Mahal, Solomon Burke, NYC's Uptown Horns, Joan
Osborne). The keyboards are by Rob Aries and Evans.
"By the age of five he'd quote Socrates/ And
play in his room with a laser beam/ Baptized the kid
with a metaphysical mind/ He's next in line for the
Nobel Prize".
"The One In Love" (ABC Radio's Fame Games
Effigy Awards Finalist - Billboard, VH1 Awards - UK Song Contest) is
a beautifully dark, mid tempo ballad that closes Angels,
Blues & the Crying Moon. It's an account of abandonment,
unresolved longing and efforts to transcend it all
at a jazz club called the Crying Moon. James Gerard
delivers the richly textured keyboard orchestration.
Philly session bassist Kjell Benner (Patti La Belle,
Arlen Roth) and drummer Rudy Feinauer (the Syndicate
of Soul, George Russell, Jimmy Guiffre) round out
the rhythm section. "From the stage I face a
crowded room/ In a club they call the Crying Moon/
As love struck couples dance the floor/ The lonely
read matchbooks looking bored".
Contact Details:
Reverend Zen Music: 111 Katonah Ave, Katonah, NY 10536
(914)232-8946
email: revjackzen@optonline.net
website: www.reverendzenmusic.com
Blakjak Music Records & Anamosa Songs Publishing
ASCAP: use above address
Reverend Zen epk at: sonicbids.com
MySpace - myspace.com/reverendzenmusic
Available at: cdbaby.com;
iTunes; amazon.com
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