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.

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.

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

~John August Schroeter