Spinning on a Cosmic Dime: Jeff Johnson and Phil Keaggy

Artists: Jeff Johnson and Phil Keaggy Album: Spinning on a Cosmic Dime

Release:  In waves, summer of 2024

Genre: Instrumental… acousta-lectric fusion, cinematic joy

Johnson brings piano, ambience, quirky percussion, and mixing chops-- Keaggy brings all manner of splendid guitars: acoustic, electric, and bass.

Exclusively available on Bandcamp 8/23/24

https://jeffjohnsonarkmusic.bandcamp.com/album/spinning-on-a-cosmic-dime

All other music services beginning 9/6/24

Short play
Have you ever seen a family with a bevy of kids…each a variation on a theme, each a little different---with one, just a tad bit different than the others?

Step to the plate, Spinning on a Cosmic Dime -- Johnson and Keaggy’s fifth instrumental child, following Frio Suite, Water Sky, Cappadocia, and Ravenna.

Like its predecessors, Spinning on a Cosmic Dime (hereafter Spinning) showcases a stunning blend of “New Age stylings”  with touches of Art-Rock and World Music.  Spinning opens with what sounds like a nod to the Tibetan Himalayas, then dallies with touches of Latinesque guitar.

Like its siblings, Spinning features eight long songs, each a symphonic tone poem made of shifting movements.

Like its siblings, Spinning is layered and complex, twining acoustic and electric worlds.

So what makes Spinning different?
In a trio of words, Cush, Absence, and Gorgeous-Turbo.

Long Play
Quality has long been a defining characteristic of all things Johnson/Keaggy, but there is something about Spinning that feels like a Rolex or a Bentley or Nikon Z9--- whatever your standard for a fine fitting door. It simply clicks, or plays like butter and brass.

Then there is that absence.
Keaggy and Johnson, (but especially Johnson) have long courted melancholy-spare, even the dark night of the soul.  But apart from a cut or two running tranquil, there is nary a whiff of the somber--this whole work runs mellow to joyous. It isn't raucous happy, more like a glowy, Saturday-morning happy.

Finally, Spinning dishes out a sound that I  (for lack of a better phrase) call, gorgeous turbo---make that effervescent trot, splendiferous energy, or radiant pulse.  When you hear it you'll know. How much more honey-muscle joy can you press into sound!

In a quick conversation with Johnson, he mentioned that Spinning came together with greater ease and speed than earlier works. My sense: This work is no less demanding than its siblings--the ease testifies to comfort and intuition. By now, each man can complete the other's musical thoughts. There is a sense in which Spinning may be deemed more accessible than the earlier offerings.  Again, not a matter of reach, but rather, thematic unity and tone. Spiritual Vibe: I suppose the title, Spinning on a Cosmic Dime could have been used to convey the idea that we are a lonely speck of dust spinning through the dark abyss. Or… it could be used to fan a sense of gratitude and wonder. Here we are, on a bejeweled bundle of life, spinning through the singing heavens.  Like their elder brother Sebastian Bach, Keaggy and Johnson create compositions that span the arc from sacred to secular.  I might wish for a better word than secular as I do not mean music without sacred weight, just not music that shouts “churchy.” Case in point, the instrumental collaborations between Jeff and Phil employ titles anchored in place, or natural phenomena. The sound and vibe is naturalistic (with exception made for sacred spaces).  Spinning on a Comic Dime flows from the spiritual act of wonder--a common precursor to Christian praise.  Beyond that, these works exude the “fruit of the Spirit.” When I hear Spinning I hear audio manifestations of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control! And so it goes, a work can be both naturalistic, and steeped in holy goodness.

For those still here: When Johnson first introduced his second album, Water Sky I figured that it and his subsequent works with Keaggy might chase water themes… with future efforts given to the Jordan, Colorado, or Amazon. After Cappadocia came out, I wondered if the team might be tracing seasons in disguise. Now with number five out, all my attempts to trace a coherent collection rationale (save good music) are busted, though I still like the seasonal motif. As for similarities, I still tend to lump the first two together, the second two together, and now the fifth, a retrospective maverick.

Frio suite
Month: November, albeit an Arkansas’s November with multi-hued sweetgum and ruby oaks.

 

Water Sky
Month: February 

Ostensibly the leanest and darkest of the set (and a personal fave). 

While darker in tone, February is not without brilliant and overpowering light!

Cappadocia
Month: April, May or October? For whatever reasons this is my most played of the set, perhaps for its sense of mystery. 

Ravenna
Month: August or September? Hot mediterranean days, cool nights and some of the liveliest, rockingest numbers in the set.
Spinning on a Cosmic Dime
Month: June (though not an Arkansas June, more a northern-June). The colors are melon and rhubarb, not blistery. This is the music I want to play when friends come to the house and we sit in a soft summer night, happy with wine.

On a personal note:
I was pleased to provide Johnson with a timelapse video from this year's astonishing Solar Eclipse. The setting: Arkansas’ own Cedar Falls of Petit Jean State Park, with three hours smashed into seconds. Speak of Cosmic Wonder!