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California Guitar Trio

The universe of guitar knows no boundaries for The California Guitar Trio. Since 1991, the group has enthralled listeners with a singular sound that fearlessly crisscrosses genres. The trio’s questing spirit drives it to explore the intersections between rock, jazz, classical, and world music. It even throws in the occasional surf or spaghetti Western tune for good measure.

Comprised of Bert Lams, Tom Griesgraber and Paul Richards, the group has established a unique, personal connection with audiences. In addition to dazzling musicianship and interplay, The California Guitar Trio’s (CGT) shows are full of captivating stories and humor that enable concertgoers to feel like they’re part of the music, not just spectators. In fact, the group’s g

CGT’s 21 albums, streamed over 115 million times on Pandora, Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music, offer diverse snapshots of the group’s mercurial muse. The trio’s latest album “Live In Scottsdale – On Tour With King Crimson” is a recording of the final opening set from the 2021 tour with the legendary King Crimson and features the new CGT 2.0 line up with Tom Griesgraber on Chapman Stick. 

CGT most recent release Elegy showcases its acoustic side, with beautiful lush originals and innovative cover arrangements of Beatles, Radiohead and more. Other highlights include Masterworks, an album of classical works, with expansive takes on Bach, Beethoven, Arvo Pärt, and Schubert. Andromeda, which combines their many influences into a visionary album of original material; CG3+2, an exploration of kinetic rock territory in collaboration with bassist Tony Levin and drummer Pat Mastelotto; and Echoes, which re-imagines timeless material by artists such as Mike Oldfield, Penguin Café Orchestra, Pink Floyd, and Queen.

The trio’s output has made a major global impact, having served as the soundtrack for Olympics coverage, and programs on CNN, CBS, NBC, and ESPN. They have fans in high places too: NASA used their music to wake the crew aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavor.

CGT’s lineup is truly the sum of its distinct parts: A Utah native now residing in Los Angeles, Paul Richards immersed himself in rock, blues, and jazz during his early days and while attending The University of Utah’s jazz guitar program. While on and off the road, Paul enjoys doing landscape photography. Prints of his work, including photos from Robert Fripp and Toyah Wilcox’s English garden are available here. Paul’s Landscape Photography.

Bert Lams, originally from Belgium, graduated from the prestigious Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels, winning awards in classical guitar performance. Bert Lams currently lives with his family in Jupiter Florida. 

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Album Review

California Guitar Trio + Montreal Guitar Trio: In a Landscape

Read "In a Landscape" reviewed by Geno Thackara


The musical territory of In a Landscape doesn't take very long to cover, yet somehow still feels vast. There's a lot of exploring behind everything these two trios do, which is only fitting in light of their globe-spanning origins, not to mention the collective miles they've racked up on the road over the decades. So it's only natural that their first full collaboration is based around that endlessly fascinating theme. There's a richly expansive work packed into these ...

5
Album Review

California Guitar Trio: Komorebi

Read "Komorebi" reviewed by Geno Thackara


Things come somewhat full circle for the California Guitar Trio on their fifteenth album Komorebi. Having often experimented with all manner of electronics and effects to weave sound textures, here they drift back towards compositions that use their acoustic guitars pure and unadorned. It was made live in a room with a minimal rig, much the same way their earliest recordings were when starting out in 1991 (and the crystal quality on this one is sharp enough to let you ...

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Album Review

California Guitar Trio: Andromeda

Read "Andromeda" reviewed by Glenn Astarita


California Guitar Trio celebrates it twentieth anniversary on Andromeda. Protégé's of iconic progressive rock guitarist Robert Fripp (of King Crimson fame), the trio's distinct and borderless methodologies have garnered acclaim throughout the past two decades. The band was often the opening act during King Crimson's late 1990s and early 2000s renaissance. Here, the artists and a special guests pay a bit of homage to the constellations. “Andromeda" finds the trio incorporating a touch of classical inferences and folk-rock, ...

154
Album Review

California Guitar Trio: rocks the west

Read "rocks the west" reviewed by Michael Askounes


Somewhere deep within the town of Precision – which lies perilously close to the active volcano, Mt. Pretension – lies the California Guitar Trio. The three acoustic guitar virtuosos that make up this eclectic band, Bert Lams, Paul Richards, and Hideyo Moriya are summa cum laude graduates from Robert Fripp’s League of Crafty Guitar Players. This pedigree is not surprising once you’ve spent some time listening to them - their guitar playing is practically flawless, both rhythmically and melodically. Their ...

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Performance / Tour

Jazz this week: Ben Reece Unity Quartet, California Guitar Trio, Kevin Bowers' NOVA, "Sculptures in Sound," and more

Jazz this week: Ben Reece Unity Quartet, California Guitar Trio, Kevin Bowers' NOVA, "Sculptures in Sound," and more

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

With performances inspired by pre-historic cave paintings, the upcoming solar eclipse, Bach, Tennessee Williams, French silent film, and more, this week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis draws from a vast variety of influences. Let's go to the highlights... Wednesday, May 3 Saxophonist Ben Reece’s Unity Quartet will make their debut in the first of the two nights at Jazz at the Bistro. The band features Reece and fellow saxophonist Austin Cebulskii (who replaced him in ...

Concerts

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

In a Landscape

Self Produced
2019

buy

Komorebi

Self Produced
2016

buy

Andromeda

Inner Knot
2011

buy

Rocks The West

Discipline US
2000

buy

Invitation

PGP RTB
1995

buy

Cathedral Peak

From: Andromeda
By California Guitar Trio

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