California Guitar Trio

California Guitar Trio
California Guitar Trio live at The B.B. King Blues Club, New York
Background information
Genres	Instrumental rock, progressive rock, New Acoustic, new-age, chamber jazz, post-rock
Years active	1991–present
Labels	Inner Knot Records, Karate Body Records
Website	http://www.cgtrio.com
Members	Paul Richards Bert Lams Hideyo Moriya
Notable instruments
steel-string acoustic guitar, classic guitar, tenor guitar, mandocello

California Guitar Trio (CGT) is a band of three guitar players founded in 1991. The three—Paul Richards of Salt Lake City, Utah, Bert Lams of Affligem, Belgium, and Hideyo Moriya of Tokyo, Japan—met at a 1987 Guitar Craft course, in which Robert Fripp instructed them in the New Standard Tuning (NST). After completing several of Fripp's Guitar Craft courses, the three toured as part of Robert Fripp and The League of Crafty Guitarists.

Continuing their collaboration then in Los Angeles, they founded The California Guitar Trio in 1991. They continue to play in the New Standard Tuning. Their performances and recordings include original compositions, surf covers, and classical re-workings of classical music. Their influences include European classical music, rock, blues, jazz, world music, and surf music.

The Trio's music was featured during the television coverage of the 1998 and 2000 Olympic Games,. It has been featured on CBS, NBC, CNN WorldBeat, and ESPN TV programs. They performed on the 2003 Grammy Awards-nominated track "Apollo" on Tony Levin's CD Pieces of the Sun. CGT music served as wake-up music for the crew aboard NASA’s Space Shuttle Endeavour.