Kyle Jones and I created an interesting and fun project called Numen some time ago. On this project we built songs based on improvisation. It turned out to be a very unique listening experience and one I have enjoyed time and again. Kyle introduced Byron House to me. Although I had seen and heard Byron play bass before, it was an amazing experience to have him in my studio with Kyle improvising the pieces on this disc we call - Catz N'Jammuz! We simply set up mics, ran the recorder and just played. There are a few places where we worked out a figure or a section of a piece then just went for it. Upon further listenings, together we did some edits but kept the initial performances intact without punching in.
I might add that, I'm not a jazz player--jazz players know that..but it's fun to pretend—and so I did. These"cats"--Kyle and Byron play it all and that's fun! Mike and Steve as well as Stuart, are all proficient as jazz players.


So what you hear is honest musical fellowship here. What seems to be the strength of this collection is that we listened to each other and that's what gives this project its uniqueness. After recording some jams, we invited others to drop by and jam with us. Producer/guitarist Mike Pachelli joined us on the last two tracks (iKat and Houndstooth) as well as Steve Krenz (Embossed) - also a fine guitar player and instructor. Finally, a sweet touch was the violin work of Stuart Duncan on Cashmere. Stuart played on my Beyond Nature album track County Down way back in 1990. So, the five of us 'Catz' share this collection of spontaneity with you in the hope you will enjoy hearing as much as we enjoyed playing in these 'Jams. Cheers and "God bless us every one."
~phil keaggy


What a wonderful ignition of creative spark these improvisations with Phil and Kyle were for me. Thanks guys! Thanks also to Steve, Stuart and Mike. Above all thanks to God for gift of music! May His Name be glorified!
~byron house


My feeble attempts for an overview:
Barathea- Arabesque' comes to mind;
Calico - my homage to my teacher, Elvin Jones;
Dobbyweave - Dreamy Sunday afternoon;
Plaid - you'll think of Plaid when Plaid was cool, if you're old enough :) Gabardine - as a percussionist, I thought, 'Where's my shakers and conga?!' in the end I was glad to have played brushes on the kit; Cashmere - a 7/8 to 4/4 construction with much intuitive playing; Embossed - Jazz as it should be whether in a coffee shop or the Montreux Festival;
I-Kat - This song evoked my 'Catz -N' Jammuz' sketches for this project;
Houndstooth - !!! Ahhhh blissful 2 against 3 African Madness for me as a drummer. The band went gloriously wild on this one! //
The rest: Phil Keaggy and Byron House are my brothers in Christ. To know them, to be honored to perform/record with them on multiple occasions is beyond my capabilities to express my gratitude. I am honored to have done a project with Steve Krenz, Mike Pachelli and Stuart Duncan on this as well! God Bless!
~kyle jones