New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Blakjak
Music Records) - Jack Evans of New York's rock/blues/jazz group Reverend Zen has been named the recipient of a prestigious 2010-2011 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 fourth consecutive year that Mr. Evans has received the ASCAP honor.
Over the past five years as leader, composer and lyricist for Reverend Zen, Mr. Evans has received sixty-nine songwriting and performance honors from around the world. In January of this year the band took home nine Finalist Awards, an Artist of the Year Nomination, and Best Song Nomination, for "Boy Genius", from ABC Radio Network's 2010-2011 Fame Games Effigy Awards in Costa del Sol, Spain. The Fame Games show along with their annual Effigy Awards is now broadcast worldwide on the Envision Radio Network. More accolades followed in August for the group with a 2010 Semi Finalist Award for "The One in Love" from the BBC sponsored UK Song Contest in London.
Two years ago after receiving five Finalist Awards from the Fame Games Effigy Awards, Reverend Zen's "The Boston Shakedown" won 2007-2008 Song of the Year honors from the ABC Radio Networks show. Mr. Evans and the band received additional kudos from last year's Effigy Awards with a 2008-2009 Artist of the Year Nomination and seven Finalist 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 Reverend Zen's "Bad Attitude" was a 2008 Best Song Nominee in the Toronto Exclusive Magazine Awards, while "Her Love" was a Song of the Year Nominee in 2008's Los Angeles Music Awards. The period also saw Mr. Evans' band receive four Semi Finalist Awards from the 2008 and 2009 Australia Song Contest in Sydney and the 2008 and 2009 UK Song Contest. Back in the United States the group took home four Finalist Awards from the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009, L.A. based, Unisong International Song Contest for "Bad Attitude", "Magdalena", "My Sigmund Freud" and "Boy Genius". More European accolades came their way in Paris as "Dangerous Times" won 2008 Finalist honors from France's 100% Song Contest. Reverend Zen ended the twelve-month period receiving 2008's Golden Wave Artist of the Year Award in Denver.
Two thousand seven brought Mr. Evans and 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 as "Bad Attitude" won 2007 Song of the Year honors. They concluded 2007 named Artist of the Year by WCH Radio in St. Louis.
In the 2006 VH1 Song of the Year Contest Reverend Zen's "Dangerous Times" was a Finalist winner in the New York/Houston-based awards, as "The Boston Shakedown", "Bad Attitude", "Magdalena", "Don't Try to Tell Me" and "Fingerprints" won 2006 VH1 Runners Up Awards. The year also saw the group receive RGW Radio's 2006 Bronze Artist Award in Norfolk, U.K. Mr. Evans' 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.
The award winning songs by Mr. Evans and Reverend Zen are all contained on the band's debut cd Angels, Blues & the Crying Moon. The release features a stellar group of musicians who've 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 2011 at the ASCAP offices in New York. Contact Details: Reverend Zen Music; 111 Katonah Ave., Katonah, NY 10536(914)232-8946; Blakjak Music Records & Anamosa Songs ASCAP: use above address.
https://www.reverendzenmusic.com ; myspace.com/reverendzenmusic ; Reverend Zen epk at:sonicbids.com/ReverendZen; Reverend Zen's Angels, Blues & the Crying Moon available at: cdbaby.com; iTunes; amazon.com
