TThe New York based group Reverend Zen has released
its independent, debut album, Angels, Blues & the
Crying Moon, that is quickly garnering critical acclaim
throughout the music industry. Receiving three Best
Song Nominations in the 2007 Los Angeles Music Awards,
a 2007 ASCAP Plus Award, two Finalist Awards in the
2007 Unisong International Song Contest, with five Runner
Up Awards and a Finalist Award in the 2006 VH1 Song
of the Year Contest, the band seamlessly blends rock,
jazz and R&B 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 listen ability of Sting but they
also touch upon the catharsis of introspection heralded
by the singer/songwriters. These traits and more are
evident on the band’s slamming shuffle “The
Boston Shakedown”, with its roguish twists and
turns, 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 Sheryll Crow, Donald
Fagen, John Scofield, Elvis Costello, Shawn Colvin and
John Mayer. The band’s sound pays tribute to these
influences, but also pushes musical boundaries mixing
the funk laden wit of “Bad Attitude” and the
burning “Boy Genius,” with the classic rock
sound of “Magdalena” and it’s folk tale
of love found.
“Our influences span several genres,” says
Evans, who names Miles Davis, James Brown, Joni Mitchell,
Steely Dan, Bob Dylan, Sting 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, Enquirer like tales of an amusing psychotic
“My Sigmund Freud” and “Her Love”,
their haunting portrait of a woman’s emotional
damage. It’s music for the thinking man’s
head. Critics seem to agree. To date the band has received
twenty nine awards in the VH1, Billboard, Mid Atlantic
and Unisong International Song Contest’s AAA, AC,
rock, jazz, blues, R&B, lyric and performance categories,
honors in the U.K.'s Singer/Songwriter Awards, a 2007
ASCAP Plus Award and three Best Song Nominations in
the upcoming 2007 Los Angeles Music Awards.
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 looks set to take Reverend
Zen’s mix of rock, jazz and R&B 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, 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, Sheryll Crow,
John Scofield)
Soozie Tyrell - background vocals (Bruce Springsteen,
Sheryll Crow, Elvis Costello, John Hammond, Shawn Colvin)
Chris Vitarello - guitar (Jimmy McGriff, Arlen
Roth, Roxy Perry)
