Angels, Blues & the Crying Moon by REVEREND ZEN

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ERIC FILLBROOK - ASCAP’s PLAYBACK MAGAZINE / STEPPING OUT (NYC)

REVEREND ZEN / BIO

The New York based group Reverend Zen has released its debut album, Angels, Blues & the Crying Moon, on the independent label Blakjak Music. A Best Song Nominee in the Los Angeles Music Awards and a Finalist in the prestigious VH1 Song of the Year Contest for “Dangerous Times”, their thought provoking ode of misguided machismo, 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 six awards in the VH1, Billboard, Mid Atlantic Song Contest’s AC, rock, jazz, R&B, lyric categories, a Best Performance nod from L.A.’s highly regarded Unisong International Contest, honors in the U.K.'s Singer/Songwriter Awards and a nomination for Best Song 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)

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