California Guitar Trio
30 years and OVER 2000 gigs later, the CGT remains intensely committed to explore, evolve and communicate a wide-ranging musical worldview. Comprised of guitarists Paul Richards, Bert Lams, Hideyo Moriya the band now adds local Chapman Stick virtuoso Tom Griesgraber to the lineup filling in for Hideyo. 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. 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 Endeavour. CGT’s 17 albums, streamed over 80 million times on Pandora, offer diverse snapshots of the group’s mercurial muse. The trio’s most recent release Elegy showcases its acoustic side, with beautiful and lush originals and innovative cover arrangements of Beatles, Radiohead, Beach and more. Other highlights include Masterworks and 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.
