Bio

So just who is this reggae artist called Rusty?

For the last 23 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. All who saw and heard him marveled at his mastery of the idioms, his astonishing guitar playing, his soulful singing – a musician’s musician. But Blues and Soul was just the beginning of Rusty’s musical journey which ultimately led him to pursue his deeply rooted love and passion for all things Reggae. In 2007 after a brief self imposed hiatus from live performances, he 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 video of the recording has become a YouTube sensation, with over 680,000 hits to date, and currently showing no sign of slowing down, getting over 1500 hits everyday. 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 he wrote “…. 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 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 then was nominated again for two more Joe Higgs Music Awards; he was nominated in the Best International Reggae Artist category for the second year in a row and 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 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 musicians. He found that many of these men who are his heroes were more than approachable and willing to share their knowledge with him. And just as he mastered the blues genres, so he has thoroughly absorbed the styles and sensibilities of classic reggae and rock steady. Truly a musician’s musician.

As Sly Dunbar recently commented ‘I was blown away by his singing & his voice….his vocal is clean and smooth. He is a great artist. ‘Nuff respect to Rusty’.

Eventually Rusty decided to travel to Kingston, Jamaica and record a project in the birthplace of Reggae music. In the spring of 2009 he finally realized that dream and spent two weeks in Kingston soaking up the vibes and working 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 such true reggae royalty lined up 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. The final track is a Dub companion to “My God” 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 as on “A Many Splendored Thing” where Rusty shows his love for the influence that Doo Wop had on Jamaican music, plus Rusty’s own personal Rock Steady “classic” “Breakaway (From This Love)”. With its nod to the Treasure Isle sound, “Breakaway” also shows the influence of Rusty’s number one vocal inspiration, the great Alton Ellis, whose memory the entire disc is dedicated 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 with its enticing reggae rhythm and melodic hook. 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”.

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