California Guitar Trio - Albums Collection 1994-2010 (6CD)

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California Guitar Trio - Albums Collection 1994-2010 (6CD)

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With a whirlwind of instrumental styles fusing classical, rock, blues, jazz, world music, progressive, as well as the quintessential California musical genre surf music, the California Guitar Trio's stunning virtuosity and sly sense of humor have earned them an enthusiastic following and wide notoriety, with significant crossover in the progressive, acoustic and classical music scenes.

Notably, CGT music was featured on the television coverage of the 1998, 2000, 2002 and 2004 Olympics, and also on CBS, NBC, CNN, and ESPN TV programs. The CGT performed on the 2003 Grammy Awards nominated track Apollo on Tony Levin's CD Pieces of the Sun; and CGT music was sent into outer space as wake up music for the crew aboard NASA's Space Shuttle Endeavor.

Over the past 19 years of nearly incessant touring, the California Guitar Trio has shared the stage with superb musicians and performers such as: King Crimson, Jon Anderson, Rick Wakeman, John McLaughlin, John Scofield, Tito Puente, Taj Mahal, Peter Rowan and Tony Rice, Dark Star Orchestra, Leftover Salmon, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Steve Lukather, Simon Phillips, David Sylvian, Adrian Legg, Kaki King, Monte Montgomery, Jake Shimabukuro and many more.

Paul Richards of Salt Lake City, Utah, Bert Lams of Brussels, Belgium, and Hideyo Moriya of Tokyo first met in England at one of Robert Fripp's Guitar Craft Courses in 1987. After completing several of these intensive courses, the three toured worldwide with Fripp's League of Crafty Guitarists. Wanting to continue working together after the League had run its course, Bert, Paul and Hideyo convened in Los Angeles and founded The California Guitar Trio in 1991, honing their intricate original compositions, surf covers, and classical re-workings.

Since their inception in 1991, the Trio has released 12 CDs: six studio CDs featuring original works from the CGT and a variety of classics such as Bach’s "Toccata and Fugue" and Beethoven's 5th Symphony. Four live releases that show the trio at their best onstage, and a Christmas CD with familiar and not-so familiar Christmas music, which continues to receive rave reviews.

In May of 2008, the CGT released Echoes, a brilliant musical compilation that showcases some of CGT's favorite composers and influences. Each piece resonates with it’s own story, and each story contributes to the CGT’s 17-year journey of creative exploration, collaboration, and commitment to their craft.

October of 2010 will see the release of CGT's new album Andromeda. This album will be the first to feature all new original music written by Bert, Paul and Hideyo. Special guests on the album include Tony Levin, Eric Slick, Julie Slick and Tom Greisgraber.

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California Guitar Trio - Albums Collection 1994-2010 (6CD)

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California Guitar Trio - Albums Collection 1994-2010 (6CD)

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For lovers of superb instrumental music, the debut by the California Guitar Trio, Yamanashi Blues, is one of the best of the '90s. Recorded strictly on amplified acoustic guitars (supplied by Bert Lams, Hideyo Moriya, and Paul Richards), the band touches upon a wide variety of musical genres, as they cover easily identifiable classical, surf, pop, and jazz tunes, with a few originals mixed in as well. Interestingly, all the songs on Yamanashi Blues were recorded in Bert Lams' living room. Great versions of '60s surf standards like "Walk Don't Run," "Pipeline," and "Sleepwalk" are included, as well as a few J.S. Bach pieces ("Prelude In C Minor," "Chromatic Fugue In D Minor," and others). The originals fit in perfectly with the cover material, such as Lams' "Carnival," Richards' "Blockhead," and Moriya's "Kan-non Power." Unlike most other instrumental albums, the California Guitar Trio stresses the importance of songwriting over instrumental technicality.

Review by Greg Prato, Allmusic.com

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California Guitar Trio - Albums Collection 1994-2010 (6CD)

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The California Guitar Trio's Invitation is their follow-up to their excellent debut, Yamanashi Blues. What sets the albums apart is that there is more original material on this release, and it also contains the first appearance of electric guitar on a C.G.T. album. The opening "Train to Lamy" features distorted, buzzing electric slide guitar, which is a sharp contrast to the clean sound of the dueling acoustic guitars. The song is spread throughout the album, starting out with the first three sewn together, while its fourth and fifth sections are heard later on (with a reprise of part three closing the album). The trio again offers spirited versions of cover songs, spanning several different musical styles. Included is the spaghetti western classic "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" by Ennio Morricone, the surf-rocker "Apache" (originally done by legendary British '60s instrumentalists the Shadows), as well as two J.S. Bach compositions ("Toccata and Fugue in D Minor" and "Prelude Circulation"). Nearly as good as their debut, and highly recommended to any aficionado of instrumental music.

Review by Greg Prato, Allmusic.com

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The California Guitar Trio was formed by Bert Lams, Hideyo Moriya and Paul Richards. All three perform acoustic guitar, on this CD, in unedited live studio performances. This 1998 recording is their third work together as a trio, after the 1995 disc "Invitation" and 1993's "Yamanashi Blues".

Before their formation as a trio, Bert, Hideyo and Paul had previously appeared in various configurations of The League of Crafty Guitarists and had also served as three of the five members of the Robert Fripp String Quintet.

On "Pathways", a significant level of performance maturity is clearly in evidence. Thankfully, such maturity has been assigned to a repertoire consisting of classical arrangements along with original, intelligent progressive compositions that match well to their classical sensibility.

In addition to the guitar trio configuration, a number of tracks include saxophone played by Bill Janssen and Roger Lambson. The touch tapped Warr Guitar, performed by Trey Gunn, is included on a few of the tracks as well.

"Pathways" will serve as a beautiful introduction to the work of the California Guitar Trio. It showcases some of the finest examples of their warmly sensitive musical expression.

Review by Nicholas Croft, Amazon.com

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The California Guitar Trio is all about precision. Their compositions are hard, etched diamonds, played with the kind of detail a jeweler could admire. One of their favorite tricks, derived from their time with Robert Fripp's League of Crafty Guitarists, is to pass the melody of a piece, one note at a time, among the three musicians. Put on the headphones to really appreciate this effect on "Prelude Circulation BWV 988." The circulation concept is more than a parlor trick, and they don't do it often, but it speaks to the single-minded, yet orchestral approach of CGT. It reveals itself in the haunting melody of "The Marsh," and on the high energy goof of "Red Iguana." With Whitewater, CGT expands their palette a bit, processing their acoustic guitars for electric lead lines ranging from the siren sustained melody on "Atlantis" to a Hendrixian freakout on "Led Foot." They leave the sometimes shtick-like covers of Beethoven and Queen off this disc, although they end the CD with a fun interpolation of Eddy Arnold's "Ghost Riders in the Sky" and the Doors' "Riders on the Storm." But most of Whitewater consists of original compositions where CGT reveals the possibilities of their sound in what might be the best album in their 13-year existence.

John Diliberto, Amazon.com

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The California Guitar Trio have been plying their formula for over a decade now: applying their combined virtuosity to a few originals, some classical pieces, some surf music, and the occasionally kitschy cover. For Echoes, they've left out the originals and added a few new wrinkles. The album begins, sounding like just about any California Guitar Trio release, but the ears perk up a bit when electric guitar enters during Beethoven's Unmei. "Echoes" has still more electric guitar along with additional keys, bass, and theremin (there are a number of guest spots on the album, including past cohort Tony Levin). "Echoes" is nicely done, but "Tubular Bells" comes off even better since the composition itself really lends itself to the CGT modus operandi. "Bohemian Rhapsody" might seem like an odd choice, but their instrumental arrangement makes it sound more like it came from the pen of Beethoven than Freddie Mercury (although somebody nails Brian May's solo). Then things sort of veer off the normal course for a CGT album. The last two tracks bring in Bonnie "Prince" Billy (aka Will Oldham) on vocals for a pair of covers: the folky "And I Know" (originally performed by Switzerland's Krokodil) and "Free Bird" (the mere thought of which might produce audible groans from some listeners). Actually, "Free Bird" comes off better than it ought to, with a bit of a reggae lilt and some dubby echo for the first part before going full electric for the coda. The vocal tracks may not appeal to all their fans (and can be programmed out anyway, if need be), but Echoes is another solid offering that manages to expand the sound of The California Guitar Trio while remaining very true to it at the same time.

Review by Sean Westergaard, Allmusic.com

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California Guitar Trio - Albums Collection 1994-2010 (6CD)

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The California Guitar Trio's 2010 release Andromeda has been described as a 20th anniversary celebration, although technically, it's a 19th anniversary celebration because CGT were formed in 1991, not 1990. But 19 years is certainly an impressive amount of time to be together – so many groups are lucky to stay together 19 months, let alone 19 years – and longtime fans will be glad to know that their work hasn't become any less intriguing. Bert Lams, Paul Richards, and Hideyo Moriya still favor an electric/acoustic style of instrumental progressive rock that incorporates elements of everything from surf rock to folk to jazz to Euro-classical to Spanish flamenco; their inspirations have long been far-reaching, and that holds true for them on Andromeda. The thing that separates Andromeda from previous CGT releases is the fact that this time, they perform original material exclusively – no Duke Ellington, no Beethoven, no Queen on this album, just their own material. And they continue to occupy an interesting space in the world of instrumental guitar rock. They aren't surf rock, although surf rock is clearly an influence – and they aren't pickers (acoustic guitar-playing folk-rock instrumentalists such as John Fahey, Leo Kottke, Robbie Basho, and Peter Lang) even though folk is among their influences. Nor are they shredders (hard rock instrumentalists like Steve Vai and Joe Satriani). CGT are much more reflective and a lot less aggressive than the shredders, who really love to crank up the amps; plus, the use of acoustic guitar is an important part of what CGT do on this CD. More acoustic than the shredders and less electric than the pickers, CGT have had an appealing niche of their own – and that niche keeps serving them well on Andromeda.

Review by Alex Henderson, Allmusic.com