Premium Jams

Description

Premium Jams is a double disc instrumental album by the American singer, songwriter, and guitarist Phil Keaggy, released on Canis Major in 1999, a division of John August Music.

Original Liner Notes:

Spontaneous Chemistry. Uninterrupted stream of consciousness. The happy accidents. A free-fall free-for-all. Inspired moments segueing into the terrifying. Such is the magical, creative, and wonderful stuff of the jam session. But the collection of musicians presented here is no garage band. On the contrary, they are some of the world’s best, caught in playful, “off the record” moments freed from the corset of commercial form and function. And the epicenter of it all? Phil Keaggy, of course.

Recorded at various times and in various environments, this collection represents our efforts to cull through and pare down the many hours of tape to a single-disc sampling of the very best – the premium jams, if you will. Couldn’t do it. Just no way to get ten pounds of jam into a five pound jar! So we have two jars, er, discs for your listening enthrallment.

DISC ONE We begin on DISC 1 with a series of jams from the retro-rockin’ sessions of Crimson & Blue‘, Keaggy’s Grammy-nominated vocal album of 1993. Recorded in July of 1992 at Brown Bannister’s Dug Out Studio, the sessions were produced by Phil’s long-time friend Lynn Nichols, and engineered by Bill Deaton. These jams feature John Sferra on drums (Keaggy’s old Glass Harp band mate), the down and dirty Hammond B-3 sounds of Phil Madeira, and the stalwart Wade Jaynes on bass. Making a rare special appearance on «Huckleberry Jam» (track 7) is Lynn Nichols, himself, turning in some very tasty bee-bop inspired rhythm guitar work.

Of course, Phil’s trademark Les Paul voice is heard on numerous tracks (1, 2, 3, 6, and 8), but it takes a breather on tracks 4, 5, and 7, giving his ’64 Strat some air time. Both guitars were played through his hot-rodded Vox AC30 amp. Keaggy recalls, “These sessions were a lot of fun. Bill and Lynn would always keep the DAT machine going whenever we would go to town and jam a bit.” The sessions also provided the fodder for Keaggy’s «The Further Adventures Of…» jam with Sferra – the track that found its way onto the ‘Revelator‘ limited release, as well as ‘Blue‘ – the Epic-distributed version of Crimson & Blue. Keaggy notes that Mark Heard was originally scheduled to participate in the Crimson & Blue sessions, but unfortunately passed away shortly before they began.

«Jambeau» (track 9) finds Keaggy with some changes in lineup and setting. Originally dubbed «Late One Night» (a likely result of an all-nighter jam), it features Dave Spurr on drums and Phil Madeira on keys. Recorded at Kegworth Studio, Keaggy reached for his ’86 Zion White Turbo and plugged into a Gallien-Krueger amp. This jam was a reunion of sorts for Keaggy, pairing him once again with Spurr, with whom he toured in the mid ‘80s. And of course, as Keaggy says, “Phil Madeira always brings lots of personality to a session!” Hard to argue that.

«Jambalaya» is the only acoustic jam offered here, recorded at Poppy Studio, and engineered by Neal Capellino. It features Pino Squillace on drums, and Chris Kent on bass. Phil played his Langejans six-string to characteristically great effect.

DISC TWO opens kicking and screaming with the Alan Bradley-penned track «Lockdown». Recorded in the winter of ’92 at Bennett House Studio, and engineered by Ritchie Biggs, Keaggy remembers, “This music went through five different sets of different lyrics: two by me, one by Alan, one by Phil Madeira, and one by Lynn Nichols. This is the basic track with John Sferra on drums and me playing Lynn’s ’56 Gold Top Les Paul guitar and a Les Paul bass. San vocals, of course.

Tracks 2 through 5 hail from the ‘220‘ sessions (recorded in 1996 at Javalena Studios for Sparrow Records), featuring Spencer Campbell on bass and Lynn Williams on drums. Phil went for his ’86 Zion, played, as usual, through his venerable Vox AC30. His sound, particularly on the slow blues «Watt Ever», was well-served by his faithful HE300 Ibanez Tube Screamer/chorus/composer pedal; no reverb or delay, though. Produced and engineered by Bill Deaton, these jams were recorded as a precursor to the “official 220 sessions.”

Next up (tracks 6 and 7) are a pair of jams recorded in the summer of ’96 at Phil’s own Kegworth Studio. On bass is Anthony Salee; Keith Carlock, with Steely Dan at the time of this writing, played drums. Salee, with whom Keaggy had played before, brought Carlock along for the ride. This occasion was their first and only meeting. “We had great fun,” Keaggy recalls. This time around, Phil plugged his black Parker Fly into a Crate tube amp with the Roland SDE 3000 delay.

Returning to the Bennet House for tracks 8 and 9 – again with Sferra and Jaynes holding down the rhythm section – we put a lid on things. We close the jam jar with a take on Badfinger’s «Baby Blue», whose guitar solo served as the prototype for the version you hear on the ‘Blue’ album, on which the track appears in it’s entirety with Keaggy’s lead vocals.

So there you have it. Lots of jam to spread around, and plenty of tasty licks to go. Turn it up!

– John August Schroeter

2CD tracklist:

Disc One

1-01. Log Jam – 4:40
1-02. Door Jam – 0:36
1-03. In A Jam – 6:27
1-04. Traffic Jam – 1:03
1-05. Toe Jam – 0:54
1-06. Jamboree – 4:30
1-07. Huckleberry Jam – 4:57
1-08. Strawberry Jam – 4:58
1-09. Jambeau – 11:35
1-10. Jambalaya – 7:53

Disc Two

2-01. Lockdown – 3:35
2-02. Watt Ever – 7:16
2-03. Elect Rick – 3:14
2-04. Sherlock Ohms – 13:39
2-05. Shock Bite – 1:28
2-06. Must Be Jelly – 14:32
2-07. Kegworth Jam – 13:43
2-08. Back to Bennett House – 2:42
2-09. Baby Blueberry Jam – 1:21

Note: Available at Bandcamp (digitally re-mastered by Paul Schwotzer and John August Schroeter at Studio Distinctive, Colorado Springs, CO.):
https://philkeaggy.bandcamp.com/album/premium-jams-volume-1
https://philkeaggy.bandcamp.com/album/premium-jams-volume-2