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.
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.
With an expansive discography, the Trio’s most recent studio release, Elegy, showcases its acoustic side with beautiful lush originals and innovative cover arrangements of The Beatles, Radiohead and more. 2012’s Masterworks is an album of classical works with takes on Bach, Beethoven, Arvo Pärt and Schubert; Andromeda combines their many influences into a visionary album of original material; CG3+2 explores 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; Bert Lams, originally from Belgium, graduated from the prestigious Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels, winning awards in classical guitar performance; and Tokyo-born Hideyo Moriya who began his guitar journey with surf music and British rock, before relocating to Boston to study at Berklee.
Website: https://cgtrio.com/