Surf-Progressive Review: California Guitar Trio - Rocks The West

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Rocks The West, a 2000 live release from the California Guitar Trio, features Tony Levin on the Chapman stick bass and a fretless bass, and Bill Janssen on the saxophone. This unique combination adds an esoteric feel to the music, transforming the trio’s sound into a more layered and complex progressive free form experience.

The classic influences come through on Beethoven’s "Symphony No. 9." The creator would have been delighted if he heard their version. The one song that just knocked my socks off was "Bohemian Rhapsody." I have never listened to an instrumental version of this song; it’s gorgeous and so intricately played. The Ellington jazz classic "Caravan," which has several popular surf-instro interpretations, is heard in an entirely different musical domain.

 

The group does have the surf influences courtesy of Hideyo Moriya. Still, bandmates Paul Richards and Bert Lams allow the song to take on a life of its own due to the cooperative spirit of each player, allowing all their influences to meld into one big, beautiful, and stunning sound.

Surf, classical, jazz, rock, folk, progressive…it’s all present and accounted for on each track. The liner notes are very cool; they track their dates and venues with insightful and humor-filled commentary. There are also some good snapshots of the band.

 

The entire world is a stage at a CTG concert. The players are the puppeteers, and we are the puppets, allowing every note to transport us to a dimension free of worry and filled with happiness and wonderment.

 

This music is not just powerful; it’s a transformative experience that you owe it to yourself to have. You have to hear these men play to truly understand the impact and importance of what they do. Their music has the power to inspire and uplift, leaving you with a renewed sense of wonder and joy.

Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck

January 24, 2002

Tracks:

01. Scramble

02. Symphony No. 9

03. Bohemian Rhapsody

04. Caravan (Moroccan roll w/drum solo)

05. Punta Patri

06. Waters of Eden

07. Blue-eyed Monkey

08. Pathways

09. Pictures at an Exhibition

10. Happy Time In Fun Town

11. Misirlou

12. Rokudan

13. Blockhead

Progressive-Surf-Instrumental Review: California Guitar Trio- With Special Guests Tony Levin and Pat Mastelotto-Live At The Key Club

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California Guitar Trio came into being in 1991 after Bert Lams (Belgium), Hideyo Moriya (Japan), and Paul Richards (USA) met at a Robert Fripp guitar seminar in England. Fripp was impressed enough to take the trio on tour with him on the now-famous Fripp’s League of Crafty Guitarists Tour, a tour known for showcasing exceptional guitar talent. The result of that successful internship helped the three men decide to break off from the Fripp troupe and start their group. CGT was born, and the rest is history.

Live At The Key Club features very special guests Tony Levin, bass player extraordinaire, and the in-demand percussionist Pat Mastelotto (Mr. Mister, King Crimson), delivering an indispensable performance with the group.

The combination of awe-inspiring jazz-inflected surf-progressive-rock sound is a rocking example of genre amalgamation. A notable inclusion to this set is the classic Surf tracks "Miserlou" (Dick Dale), "Apache" (The Shadows), and King Crimson’s phenomenal ‘Discipline’ to wet your diverse musical palette. If that isn’t enough for you, then John McLaughlin’s “Dance Of The Maya” will set your soul afire.

This group sounds like a literal guitar army. Keep in mind this is all acoustic guitar, although it doesn’t keep the sound down at all. With the addition of the incredible Tony Levin and the rhythmic percussion of Mastelotto, CGT is given more depth and breadth in their sound, and quite simply put, it’s out of this world.

Wizard engineer Ronan Chris Murphy mixed the recording, so they got the very best in that department; it’s more than obvious right from the start of the first track that Murphy’s stamp is on the mix. They do an ultra-fast version of “Heart Of The Sunrise” (Yes), and according to the group in the liner notes, it’s true to form when you listen to it.

Three dueling guitars at warp speed is something to witness. This recording will be just like being there. It will be as captivating as anything you have ever heard. Intricate notes are woven in multiplicity to create their three-man guitar sound. I have to give full credit to the rhythm section; it must have been complicated to keep pace with and make the proper exchange between the drums and bass without allowing the guitars to drop out of sync. They couldn’t have chosen a better duo than Levin and Mastelotto.

As a reviewer of progressive bands, my introduction to the California Guitar Trio was a revelation. Their name kept cropping up in my research, and I was not disappointed. Their sound is a masterclass for musicians, a sonic journey that I urge you to experience.

Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck

January 23, 2002

Tracks:

01. Train to Lamy (4'56") - Lams, Richards, Moriya

02. Zundoko Bushi (3:43") - unknown, arr. Moriya (w/ excerpts from 21st Century Schizoid Man - Fripp, McDonald, Lake, Giles, Sinfield)

03. Blockhead (3'36") - Richards

04. Apache (3'26") - Lordan, The Shadows (Atlantic)

05. Sketches on Sunset (6'48") - Mastelotto, Levin, Lams, Richards, Moriya Improvisation

06. Discipline (4'51") - King Crimson (BMG Music)

07. Miserlou (1'58") - Tauber, Wise, Rubanis, Leeds (Campbell Connelly, & Co. Ltd)        

08. “Many people ask us..." (3'05") - Richards

09. Melrose Ave. (2'15") - Moriya

10. Dance of Maya (5'54") - Mclaughlin (Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.)

11. Heaven’s Bells (6'56") - Mastelotto, Levin, Lams, Richards, Moriya Improvisation

12. Heart of the Sunrise (7'22") - Anderson, Squire, Bruford (Atlantic)

13. Caravan (5'28") - D. Ellington, I. Mills, J. Tizal (EMI Mills Music Inc.)

14. Eve (4'02") - Richards, Lams, Moriya, Levin