California Guitar Trio

A new all-classical album from a trio of astonishing virtuosos

Did you hear the California Guitar Trio at the Ann Arbor Folk Festival a few years ago, playing the last movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, minus the voices but with pretty much everything else intact? Great news-this virtuoso trio has just released "Masterworks," an all-classical album featuring music by Bach, Barber, Beethoven, Schubert, Rossini, Vivaldi, and Arvo Pärt. They also play progressive rock, surf music, jazz, blues, country, probably the definitive version of "Bohemian Rhapsody," and some traditional North African and Asian sounds for good measure. Like most Californians, the three members of the California Guitar Trio all come from someplace else: Bert Lams is Belgian, Hideyo Moriya is from Japan (where the band has a strong following), and Paul Richards is from Salt Lake City. The CGT is a melding of diverse talents unlike anything you've heard before, and one you can't afford to miss!