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| Reverend Zen's Jack Evans Receives Third Consecutive ASCAP Award Jack Evans of New York's rock/blues/jazz group Reverend Zen has been named the recipient of a prestigious 2009-2010 ASCAP Plus Award. Mr. Evans was selected for the honor by a distinguished panel of music experts chaired in ASCAP's Jazz & Popular Music Division. ASCAP, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, is one of the world's largest performing rights organizations providing licensing and royalty distribution for its members. The annual ASCAP Plus Awards are based on recent activity of the applicants and considered on merit and in the context of all others applying. This marks the third consecutive year that Mr. Evans has received the ASCAP honor. Over the past three years, as leader, composer and lyricist for Reverend Zen, Mr. Evans has received fifty-seven songwriting and performance honors from around the world. In January of this year the band was named a 2008-2009 Artist of the Year Nominee by ABC Radio Networks Fame Games Effigy Awards in Costa del Sol, Spain. They additionally received seven Finalist Awards from the event for their songs "Bad Attitude", "Don't Try to Tell Me", "My Sigmund Freud", "Her Love", "Dangerous Times", "Boy Genius" and "The One in Love". Those accolades were followed by two Finalist Awards from 2008-2009's Unisong International Song Contest in Los Angeles for "My Sigmund Freud" and "Boy Genius". In London Reverend Zen's "Don't Try to Tell Me" was a 2009 Semi Finalist in the BBC sponsored UK Song Contest, while "Her Love" was a Semi Finalist winner in 2009's Australia Song Contest in Sydney. In early 2008, after receiving five Finalist Awards, Reverend Zen's "The Boston Shakedown" was named 2007-2008 Song of the Year by ABC's Fame Games Effigy Awards. Paul Sedowski, CEO of the Effigy Awards, and his fellow panelists remarked, "Reverend Zen sounds like a killer band that's tight, full of energy and swing, highly accomplished and credible. Their great musicianship and musical taste make it a pleasure to listen to their music." In Canada the group's "Bad Attitude" was a 2008 Best Song Nominee in the Toronto Exclusive Magazine Awards, while in California "Her Love" was a Best Song Nominee in 2008's Los Angeles Music Awards. The period also saw the band receive four Semi Finalist Awards from 2008's Australia Song Contest and 2008's UK Song Contest. More European honors followed with two Semi Finalist Awards from France's 2008 100% Song Contest, as "Dangerous Times" took home 2008 Finalist honors from the Paris-based event. Reverend Zen ended the year receiving 2008's Golden Wave Artist of the Year Award in Denver, as Mr. Evans was honored with a 2008-2009 ASCAP Plus Award in New York. Two thousand seven brought Reverend Zen four Best Song Nominations from the Los Angeles Music Awards for "Dangerous Times", "Bad Attitude", "The Boston Shakedown" and "Don't Try to Tell Me". The group was subsequently named 2007 Artist of the Year by the Hollywood-based awards with "Bad Attitude" named 2007 Song of the Year. This period also saw Reverend Zen receive two Finalist Awards from 2007-2008's Unisong International Song Contest for "Bad Attitude" and "Magdalena". They concluded the year with Mr. Evans receiving a 2007-2008 ASCAP Plus Award, while Reverend Zen was named 2007 Artist of the Year by WCH Radio in St. Louis. In 2006 Reverend Zen was a Finalist in the New York and Houston-based VH1 Song of the Year Contest for "Dangerous Times", with "The Boston Shakedown", "Bad Attitude", "Magdalena", "Don't Try to Tell Me" and "Fingerprints" all honored with 2006 VH1 Runners Up Awards. The year also saw Reverend Zen receive RGW Radio's 2006 Bronze Artist Award in Norfolk, U.K. The band has additionally received songwriting and performance honors from the highly regarded 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. All of the award winning songs by Mr. Evans and Reverend Zen are contained on the band's debut cd Angels, Blues & the Crying Moon. The release features a stellar group of musicians who have performed with Eric Clapton, Annie Lennox, David Sanborn, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, B.B. King, Shawn Colvin, Donald Fagen, Aretha Franklin, Madonna, John Scofield, Stevie Wonder, John Mayer, Joni Mitchell, Paul Schaeffer, Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow, Lenny Kravitz, Celine Dion, Joe Cocker, Albert Collins and Pearl Jam. Since the albums release the band has received air play and coverage in North and South America, Europe, Australia, the Middle East, Japan and Australia. Reverend Zen is also featured on the compilation releases "Fresh Produce 4" from MVY Radio in Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, Cape Cod and Newport, R.I., "Music for Coffee Beings I" from RPW Records in British Columbia, Canada, "Songwriters & Storytellers" from the San Francisco Bay area's Indie Artist Alliance and "Just Talents" from Research Music in Miami, Rio De Janeiro and Berlin. The ASCAP Plus Awards distributions take place in January 2010 at the ASCAP offices in New York. write your comments about the article :: © 2009 Jazz News :: home page |