"'Reggae My Blues Away', 'My God', and 'Heaven Is A Place Called
Zion' show his interest in Jah music is not of the
bandwagon variety…" - Chuck Foster, The Beat!, review of Rusty Zinn's ReggaeBlue"On Manifestation, Rusty Zinn has created a lustrous album of all faiths-embracing hymns for the new century" - Roger Steffens
You may ask
who is Rusty? But he is no stranger to the music
industry! For the last twenty three years he has travelled the world over
performing Blues and Soul music as Rusty Zinn. During that time he has
performed and recorded with many legends in those genres and received rave
reviews, accolades, and award nominations! But Blues and Soul was just the beginning
of Rusty's musical journey which ultimately led him to pursue his deep rooted
love and passion for all things Reggae! Rusty wasted no time and in 2007 after
a brief self imposed hiatus from live performances, released "Reggaeblue" with
11 original songs and a cover of the timeless classic "Can't Take My Eyes Off
Of You" in a reggae style, accompanied by key members of the legendary roots
reggae backing unit, Soul Syndicate whom he had befriended! The release
garnered him a 2007
Joe Higgs Music Award nomination as Best International Reggae Artist. In Chuck Foster's review of "Reggaeblue" in The Beat publication there were quotes such
as "…. His interest in Jah music is not
of the bandwagon variety" and "did I mention this guy can sing?" and even
compared his songwriting talents to the great Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham!
The focus of
Rusty's Reggae music is always centered on the voice first and foremost. He
says: "when I was a small child the very first music I remember hearing were
vocal groups like The Spinners and The Stylistics. My parents were always
playing music from their youth, mostly Doo Wop, Sam Cooke, The Beatles, Ray
Charles, Fats Domino and so many more. I think being raised on all that kind of
music made me subconsciously develop certain standards to uphold in my music. Those standards are elements such as soulful
singing, good messages, strong arrangements, nice chord progressions " These are key
ingredients in Rusty's personal brand of Reggae which is also very influenced
and inspired by such great Jamaican singers as Joe Higgs, Alton Ellis, Ken
Boothe, Delroy Wilson, and Slim Smith among many others.
Rusty
performed at the 2009 Sierra Nevada World Music Festival where he was very well
received and made a lasting impression on the festival's promoter, Warren
Smith. During this time, Rusty was nominated once again for another Joe Higgs
Music Award, although this time it was two awards rather than one! He was
nominated in the Best International Reggae Artist category for the second year
in a row but was also nominated in The Best Male Singer category alongside such
notables as Beres Hammond. These nominations were a great honor for Rusty as
Joe Higgs, known as The Godfather of Jamaican Music has had a huge impact and
profound influence on his music, particularly his approach to songwriting.
Other Jamaican performers who have had a
huge impact on his music and his livity through many personal reasoning are his
many mentors, Milton Henry, Mikey Mao Chung, Barry Biggs, Clinton Fearon, Tony
Chin, and Fully Fullwood. Rusty sought out many of these Jamaican music
notables and befriended them so that he could soak up the true vibes of some of
Reggae's foundational singers and players of instruments. He found that many of
these men who are his heroes were more than approachable and willing to share
their knowledge with him.
Eventually
Rusty felt a necessity to make a pilgrimage to Kingston, Jamaica and record a
project in the birth place of Reggae music! In the spring of 2009 he finally
realized that dream and was on a plane to go spend two weeks in Kingston to
soak up the vibes and work on a new CD! The project was organized by Rusty with
the help of his friend and mentor, Mikey Chung (Now Generation, Peter Tosh,
Black Uhuru, Sly & Robbie) who played guitar on six tracks on
"Manifestation". Rusty and Mikey were
joined on the six song session in Kingston's Mixing Lab studio by none other
than the great Sly Dunbar on Drums, Boris Gardiner on Bass, Robbie Lyn on
Keyboards and the legendary Scully Simms on kette drum and percussion! With true reggae royalty pedigree such as
this lineup behind
him, Rusty has created a very soulful piece of Reggae art which Roger Steffens
has already hailed as "a lustrous album of all faiths-embracing hymns for the
new century".
Rusty's new
release, "Manifestation" opens with
"Give Something You've Got" recalling the golden age of early Reggae with a tip
of the hat to the great Jimmy Cliff whose live performances had a huge impact
on Rusty's decision to make a commitment to sing and play Reggae music. "For
Creation" follows with a classic roots reggae sound featuring some wicked kette drum
work by the aforementioned Scully Simms. There are many other stirring roots
reggae originals on the set with conscious and spiritual messages such as
"Mankind" where Rusty asks "why do they call us mankind" rooted firmly in the
Rasta wordplay approach, as well as the title track "Manifestation" which was
inspired by Rusty's belief in manifesting one's vision which ultimately led him
to Jamaica. On "My God" Rusty gives insight into his opinion that if all the
nations of the world could unite under one Creator, things would be much better
on earth as we know it. There is also a Dub companion to "My God" at the end of
the program which will excite fans of classic reggae dub sounds. Rusty's roots
reggae are uncompromising and unapologetic but also have something to offer in
the way of inspiration to all walks of life, to all color, class, and creed.
There are
also themes of love on "Manifestation"
such as "A Many Splendored Thing" where Rusty shows his love for the
influence that Doo Wop had on Jamaican music as well as "Breakaway (From This
Love)" where the Treasure Isle sound is evident in Rusty's own personal Rock
Steady "classic". "Breakaway" also shows the influence of Rusty's number one
vocal inspiration, the great Alton Ellis, whose memory the entire disc is
livicated to. Another standout lovers theme is the radio friendly "Put Your
Faith In Me" which may entice fans of Johnny Nash as
well as Jimmy Cliff as it is a memorable reggae melody with a pop sensibility.
As for themes of love, Rusty simply puts it like this: "My music is all about
love. It could be the love for a woman, or the love for Jah, but it's all love in the beginning and end".
For Bookings: Contact Bob Bell
E-Mail: bobobbell999@yahoo.com Phone: (510) 553-1349
