Press
FEB ’12: East Bay Express
“One Night of Zinn”
Local bluesman Rusty Zinn found a new voice in reggae.
A dozen years ago, Rusty Zinn was one of the fastest rising guitarists in the blues world. Noted for his incisive, consistently inventive playing and soul-drenched singing, he recorded for two of the country’s leading blues labels — two CDs for Black Top, another for Alligator — toured with harmonica blower Kim Wilson’s band, and was nominated for “Best New Blues Artist” by the Blues Foundation in Memphis.
In recent years, however, the Santa Cruz-bred, Alameda-based musician has reinvented himself as a reggae crooner. During breaks between tours with Mark Hummel & the Blues Survivors, he made trips to Kingston to cut two CDs of his original songs with such legendary reggae studio players as guitarists Tony Chin and Mikey Chung, bassists Fully Fullwood and Boris Gardiner, and drummer Sly Dunbar. Although still doing occasional blues recording sessions, most recently with Southern California’s The Mannish Boys, Zinn hasn’t done a live blues gig in nearly a year.
On Sunday, a night after headlining a reggae show at Ashkenaz, Zinn and his tight backing quartet played in the more intimate environs of Cafe Randevu, an Eritrean bar and restaurant at the corner of Broadway and 25th Street in Oakland. They currently perform there on the second and fourth Sundays of each month, and in April plan to begin playing every first Friday during Oakland Art Murmur walking tours.
The band kicked off with “Liquidator,” the 1969 instrumental reggae smash by the Harry J. Allstars from which The Staple Singers would later borrow the introduction and groove for “I’ll Take You There.” Zinn and Bob Welch, his onetime Hummel bandmate, traded blues-bitten guitar solos over the steady loping grooves of drummer Dave Flores, bassist Etienne Franc, and keyboardist Russell Kreitman.
The focus then turned to Zinn’s vocals. With Welch playing the intricate rhythm parts and talking the bulk of the solos, the leader largely limited his guitar work to simple up-and-down strokes with emphasis on the twos and fours of each measure while singing his own songs and versions of reggae oldies associated with the likes of John Holt, Alton Ellis, and Ken Booth in melisma-dripping tenor tones. Drawing on such early reggae subgenres as rock steady, lovers rock, and roots reggae, Zinn’s own tunes alternated between the spiritual and the romantic.
“This is y’all’s personal concert tonight,” he told the first-set audience of five before digging into “Stick by Me,” an American doo-wop tune by Shep and the Limelites that Holt had transformed into a lovers rock anthem. (It was raining outside Randevu, but attendance more than doubled by the second set.)
“We got two lovers right here,” Zinn added, referring to a couple at the bar. “Why don’t you rub-a-dub? Keep the romance in reggae.”
He followed “Stick by Me” with his own “A Many Splendored Thing” from his current Manifestation CD. Are you gonna love him or leave him? Which will it be? You know that he can’t love you quite like me, Zinn crooned over a lilting melody reminiscent of Rosie and the Originals’ “Angel Baby,” sometimes interjecting Sam Cooke-like “who-ah-oh-ah” yodels between phrases.
The subject matter soon turned from romantic to religious. During his song “My God,” he cried out such lines as My God is not black nor is He white, but He’s our salvation and our guiding light and Some call him Jehovah, some call him Jah. No matter what you call Him, He is the law. Unlike Rastafarianism, with its dreams of repatriation to Africa and belief in the divinity of a dead dictator, Zinn’s vision is decidedly universal.
The second set found some in the growing audience up and dancing to the band’s hypnotic rocksteady grooves. Zinn’s reading of “Ain’t That Loving You (For More Reasons Than One),” originally recorded by Johnnie Taylor and reggae-ized by Alton Ellis, was particularly impassioned, and during the vamp he added lines from Sam Cooke’s version of “For Sentimental Reasons.”
The mood again turned spiritual. Zinn, whose carrot-orange hair was concealed by a brown beret, lowered his pitch for the original composition “Mankind,” asking at one point, Why do they call us mankind when there is no kindness at all?
Zinn has never been much of a self-promoter, but his professional profile has been expanding since Bob Bell signed on as his manager late last year. The Oakland-based Englishman knows much about the connection between blues and reggae, having been production manager for the Island and Trojan labels in London during the Sixties and Seventies and helping promote the careers of such reggae pioneers as Jimmy Cliff and Desmond Dekker. After moving to the US in 1980, he spent two decades as the manager of Rhode Island’s Roomful of Blues.
“Rusty is to reggae what Roomful was to jump blues,” he said before Sunday’s gig. The analogy seemed spot-on.
- Lee Hildebrand
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DEC ’11: eGuide
“Rusty Zinn NOT a newcomer to Reggae”
RZ - Yeah, I guess that would depend on what somebody considers being a newcomer! He! He! I’ve been singing and performing Reggae music now for about ten years! It seems like the media wants to keep sensationalizing my journey into Reggae music. Maybe they think it’s a good story, but to me I guess it’s long yesterday’s news and I’m only concerned with the future. I have two Reggae CD’s at this point. The first one I recorded with Fully Fullwood, Tony Chin and Santa Davis. We cut that back in 2006. My latest CD was mostly recorded in Kingston, Jamaica back in 2009 with Reggae luminaries such as Sly Dunbar, Mikey Chung, Boris Gardiner, Robbie Lyn, Scully Simms and others. It’s called “Manifestation” and it’s on the 9 Above Records label. So, I guess I’m just trying to say that I’ve been very busy over the past few years manifesting my journey into Jamaican music. This is my passion!
RZ - That’s a very tough question to answer but I would say the great Joe Higgs who is considered The Godfather of Reggae would be at the top of the list. Of course most people know that he taught Bob & The Wailers many vocal techniques and tutored them, so to speak, but I love Joe’s music because of what a fantastic singer he was and what an insightful and conscious songwriter he was as well. I think his music goes over alot of people’s heads. He always seemed to avoid all the cliches and dogma of your average Reggae performer. He was one of a kind. There will never be
RZ - Another tough question to answer. I find that music is either good or bad. Those are really like the two genres ya know! He! He! I guess I find that younger people seem to embrace Reggae music more than Blues and if the vibes are right at certain Reggae shows, there may at times be a higher level of consciousness. The main thing in Reggae for me, is that there can often times be a similarity to singing Blues which may be the subject of sufferation, but in Reggae there always seems to be light at the end of the tunnel where in Blues there often is not that light in the end of the story! He! He! But I would say Love songs are my favorite! As Ken Boothe says, “love songs stand predominate”! What’s not conscious about singing a love song for a woman? It’s all part of creation! Bless!NOV ’11: Rubber City Review
“From Cali to Kingston: The Unlikely Journey of Rusty Zinn”
Here’s a tasty guitarist I lost track of a few years back. Then when I recently looked into his newer stuff – expecting to hear more variations on the rock-solid blues he recorded in the ‘90s – I was surprised to find out he’d reinvented himself as a 21st Century Rastaman… in a very sincere and soulful way. Let’s put it this way – the California native didn’t slap on a reggae beanie and start chunkin’ so he could get a gig on a cruise ship.
My first introduction to Rusty Zinn was a fine album he recorded for the Black Top label back in ‘96: “Sittin’ and Waitin’.” It was produced by Fabulous Thunderbird Kim Wilson, who also sings and plays soaring harp on a few tunes. I pulled the album out of cold storage after listening to Steve Cropper’s tribute to The “5” Royales, “Dedicated” – which I liked, but felt Rusty did a better job covering the band with his gritty remakes of 30 Second Lover and this classic: 
Think
As you can tell, Zinn really didn’t need any help from Wilson in the vocals department. Although he started out as a sideman in the Bay Area for blues-based artists like Mark Hummel, Larry Taylor (Canned Heat) and Wilson, Zinn started singing in the ‘90s, probably in anticipation of a solo career. And his voice has only gotten stronger and more assured with each release.
As I revisited some of Zinn’s stuff, I also remembered a conversation I had with bluesrocker Patrick Sweany about 15 years ago when I met him in a small club in Akron. After we shared a few niceties, he jumped right into a lengthy description of all that’s good and right about Rusty’s playing – a rootsy sound that combines the muscle and economy of a Cropper with the daredevil spirit of someone like Mickey Baker… a sound that seems to come from an era when Swing was King and shredding à la Stevie Ray was a disaster yet to happen: Stand By Me
Zinn put out another satisfying album for Black Top, “Confessin’” – a wide-ranging affair that included this great organ combo workout: Confessin’ About My Baby
He also did a brief stint at Alligator, recording “The Chill” in 2000 before moving on to a couple of smaller labels (Bad Daddy and 9 Above). That’s when things started to get real interesting…
His first post-Alligator release, “Zinfidelity, Vol. 1,” took a detour into classic ‘70s soul, including long-lost nuggets like Sammy Taylor’s Ain’t That Some Shame. Then the reggae influence began to take hold on 2007’s “Reggaeblue.” And the artist now simply known as “Rusty” hasn’t looked back since. He’s teamed up with some of Jamaica’s finest – including the legendary Sly Dunbar on drums and Mikey Chung on guitar – playing the island’s greatest export with surprising conviction. Here’s the title cut from his latest release, 2009’s “Manifestation”
Rather than try to guess what inspired Rusty’s move to reggae, we decided to ask the artist himself…
T.Q.: How did you get into the whole reggae groove? What were your main influences?
R.Z.: I was raised in Santa Cruz, which has always been a reggae-friendly town. I was exposed to reggae at an early age, and all my friends listened to a lot of reggae. However, it wasn’t until the mid-‘90s when my pal Bob Welsh turned me on to rock steady and early reggae through the music of Jimmy Cliff, Desmond Dekker and early Wailers. That started an almost “in the closet” fascination with Jamaican music, which eventually became a passion I couldn’t keep contained anymore! My biggest influences in Jamaican music have been classic singers such as Alton Ellis, Ken Boothe, Delroy Wilson, Slim Smith, Joe Higgs, Milton Henry and Clinton Fearon, just to name a few.
Do you still play the occasional blues gig, or are you solely devoted to reggae?
I am totally devoted to my reggae, rock steady and ska music. I turn blues gigs down left and right, unless it’s a gig I really want to do. Most of my blues playing now is only on recording sessions (they generally pay well!).
With the reggae influence now dominant, what’s changed about your guitar playing and singing?
The obvious change would be that I’ve committed myself to learning to play the music authentically, just like I did in all of my years playing blues. I sought out the pioneers of Jamaican music and have befriended many of my idols and have learned a lot from them. I never sing in patois but sing in my own voice to keep it real and be sincere with the genre. My guitar playing has taken a total back seat to my vocals. I do a lot of gigs with two guitar players, and I often will just merely sing on these gigs, which is very liberating! I have two guitar players in my group. One is Bob Welsh, who really is responsible for turning me into a bonafide Jamaican music nut. The other is the legendary Hux Brown, who played guitar on thousands of sessions with players like Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, Toots & The Maytals and Desmond Dekker, just to name a few. It’s funny, even though I don’t always play a lot of guitar on the shows, I have learned a lot about the guitar from Hux. My singing has become more intense and passionate singing this music because I never was really happy singing blues, and I feel like I’ve really found my voice. I always enjoyed playing blues on the guitar but was never satisfied singing blues. For about a year before I really took the plunge and started only playing reggae, I was singing soul music on the road with a seven-piece band including horns. I was also mostly just singing in that project as well and playing guitar on numbers that really needed it.
What do the old blues cats think about your reggae stuff? (I’ve noticed some blues players and fans can be a little parochial.)
I haven’t gotten much feedback from the old blues performers, as most of the older ones I used to perform with have passed on! Although Willie “Big Eyes” Smith got a kick out of it and laughed and told me he knew I went over to reggae cause that’s where all the weed was… He! He! Which is funny cause I don’t smoke herb at all. I have mostly gotten resistance from younger blues fans and performers. A lot of folks are always chatting behind my back. It often gets back to me. I grew dreadlocks and wore them for about five or six years and embraced many elements of the Rastafarian lifestyle for a time as well, and this seemed to terrify many “blues” folks. People told me I couldn’t switch to another genre and that I would be a bluesman forever, but I felt I needed to be singing something different that better suited my voice and songwriting talents. It has ultimately made me stronger to come up against this resistance. I’ve always loved music, not just blues. My first passions were R&B, soul, etc… and The Beatles when I was a young boy, which inspired me to learn the drums first. Not very many people know that! I even played drums in an after-school Motown cover band with girl singers when I was a teenager! We did one public performance back then before we all went our separate ways.
How has the move been from a business standpoint?
From a business standpoint it has been like starting all over again… I’ve been accused of being “crazy” and “courageous,” among other things. Some amazing things have happened to me in my reggae career already! The future looks bright, but the bottom line is I am happy singing and playing what I want. Check out www.rustyreggae.com and come join me on the journey.
More Rusty reggae… a live performance from “Parti Gras” in Toronto. Stick around for Rusty’s solo – he really burns it:
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SEP ’11: SF Gate.com
“Rusty Zinn All-Stars: Bluesman turns to Reggae”
The blues nourished Rusty Zinn’s soul, but reggae music has set his spirit soaring.
After a nearly two-decade run as one of Northern California’s most lauded blues guitarists, Zinn has reinvented himself as a roots reggae crooner whose songs are suffused with spiritual uplift. While his journey has been shepherded by some of reggae’s most influential and celebrated artists, he’s still shedding his reputation as a high-octane guitar slinger whose scorching fretwork provided inspiration for an array of harp masters, including James Cotton, Kim Wilson, Mark Hummel and Snooky Pryor.
“I don’t think people realize that I haven’t played a blues gig for almost two years,” Zinn says. “I was still doing occasional blues sideman work, but the reggae thing has been my key focus since 2007. It wasn’t even premeditated, it manifested. The messages and the lyrics and the whole vibe just felt good.”
He recorded most of his recent album “Manifestation” in Jamaica, where he turned over the guitar chair to Mikey Chung, a major force in reggae’s evolution since the late 1960s. The ubiquitous drummer Sly Dunbar, who has provided a loping groove on tens of thousands of tracks with bass partner Robbie Shakespeare, piloted the rhythm section.
For Sunday’s show, which includes the opening act Inner Riddim, Zinn is working with his Bay Area combo. And once again he is concentrating on delivering his bright, soulful tenor vocals while another Jamaican legend, longtime Oakland resident Hux Brown, handles guitar duties.
They’ve become fast friends over the past year, and Brown’s seminal role in the rise of doo-wop-infused rocksteady, reggae’s predecessor, jibes perfectly with Zinn’s love of vintage R&B. As the guitarist for the Dynamites, the house band at Leslie Kong’s famous studio Beverly’s, Brown recorded with a who’s who of reggae’s emerging stars.
Perfectly cast as the lead guitarist and bandleader in the 1972 movie “The Harder They Come,” he also collaborated on Paul Simon’s hit “Mother and Child Reunion.”
“Hux is so crucial in the development of reggae,” Zinn says. “He was there at the creation of ska and rocksteady, and was one of the major pioneers of those styles. It’s been a real blessing that he’s become a good friend, and essentially the bandleader, arranger and music director. When he’s onstage, I don’t even play the guitar anymore.”
Raised in Santa Cruz, Zinn grew up hearing reggae, but he became obsessed with blues as a teenager. He first gained notice with Mark Hummel’s Blues Survivors in the early 1990s, and in 1996 released his solo debut album, “Sittin’ & Waitin’,” which led to a Blues Music Award nomination for best new blues artist.
“It took me a while to embrace it,” Zinn says. “But at this point I feel this foundation in blues, R&B and soul has given me an advantage, at least in making music that pleases myself.”
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JUN ’11: JahWorks.Org
“CD Review: Rusty Zinn – Manifestation”
There’s nothing particularly rusty about this guy. He’s got a better-than-average singing voice (he’s even his own harmony section), he knows his way around the guitar (lead, pick and riddim) and his songs deal with love and unity and the Almighty – stuff that never ceases to matter. A native of Long Beach, CA, Rusty Zinn was raised on all sorts of music, becoming a respected bluesman before reggae took over as his primary passion. That passion is smartly manifested on Manifestation, which was recorded in Jamaica and San Francisco and proves to be the work of a skilled, confident artist whose blues roots are evident. Rusty also shows that he has a feel for pop hooks, conscious themes and reggae that’s got soul (check the Stax-like horns that set off the altruistic opening number “Give Something You’ve Got”).
Half the album’s songs were Jamaican sessions with backing by elite players like Sly Dunbar on drums, Boris Gardiner on bass, Robbie Lyn handling keys, guitarist Mikey Chung and percussionist Scully Simms. But the Bay Area tracks are not lacking in roots quality either; therefore, the entire disc is one continuous flow of reggae and rocksteady goodness. Spiritual testimonies “My God,” “Heaven Is A Place Called Zion,” “For Creation” and “In Zion (There Is No Night)” are set to grooves as foundational as lovers’ rock sentiments “How Could I Let You Get Away” and “A Many Splendored Thing.” Zinn’s voice throughout rings with rich clarity that could do justice to any genre of music – it just so happens he had the good sense to choose reggae as his means of getting this set of positive messages across. Manifestation is livicated to the memory of Alton Ellis, who is no doubt residing in the very same Zion that Zinn sings about and surely well pleased to have his name attached to such a very fine piece of work. Reggae on, Rusty.
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APR ’11: Rocking Steady e-zine
“CD Review: Rusty Zinn – Manifestation”
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