The Montréal Guitare Trio bridges diverse genres of music. The group will join the California Guitar Trio in concert Feb. 2 at Largo Cultural Center.
LARGO – The California Guitar Trio and the Montréal Guitare Trio join forces for a memorable performance Saturday, Feb. 2, 8 p.m., at Largo Cultural Center, 105 Central Park Drive.
This six-by-six-string “phenomensemble” features virtuoso guitarists from four countries, including Japan, Canada, Belgium and the United States. Together, CGT and MG3 will explore intricate original compositions as well as new arrangements of progressive rock, world, jazz and classical music.
Tickets for the show start at $24.50. Add $5 to the price for tickets purchased at the door. For information, call 587-6793 or visit largoarts.com.
The two outfits fuse more than 40 years of combined performing experience into one unique performance. In a pleasantly surprising way, CGT's steel stringed-guitars blend naturally with MG3's nylon-stringed guitars, as each trio’s fret boards chase the others' original compositions and new arrangements of progressive rock, world, jazz and classical music.
CGT
The California Guitar Trio formed in 1991.
Paul Richards of Salt Lake City, Utah, Bert Lams of Affligem, Belgium, and Hideyo Moriya of Tokyo, Japan first met in England at one of a Guitar Craft Courses, presented by guitar legend Robert Fripp, founding member of the progressive rock group King Crimson and known in the music industry as a master of cross-picking and developer of Frippertronics. After completing several of these intensive courses, the three toured worldwide with Fripp’s League of Crafty Guitarists. They continued working together in Los Angeles, founding The California Guitar Trio in 1991, to create original compositions, surf covers, and classical re-workings. The band was originally planned as a quartet until one member decided the commitment required wasn’t feasible.
According to the trio’s biography provided by SRO Artists Inc., CGT makes use of a wide range of instrumental styles fusing European classical music, rock, blues, jazz, world music, and surf music.
MG3
Founded in 1998, the Montréal Guitar Trio quickly established itself as a force to be reckoned with by bridging diverse genres of music. The trio features Glenn Lévesque, Marc Morin and Sébastien Dufour.
The trio’s virtuosity, precision, creativity and dynamic stage presence have earned them a loyal following around the world. Noted for the wit and warmth of their interactions with audiences, the MG3 won the 2011 Opus Prize for concert of the year in the Jazz/World Music category. They have given hundreds of concerts in prestigious venues in North America, Europe, New Zealand, and Australia.
The band’s most recent CD, “Cambria,” is the globe, the MG3 settled down in Montreal last spring to record their fourth CD, Cambria. The product of a long period of musical introspection and the trio’s most accomplished and personal work yet.
CGT+MG3
Inspired in 2009 by an impromptu studio session together in Montreal, CGT and MG3 released a live recording in 2011. Their combined talents have led to showcases at numerous arts presenter conferences and an extended co-bill tour throughout North America. Already, the CGT+MG3 fusion has appeared at the Iridium in New York City, the Montreal Jazz Festival and the Napa Valley Opera House.
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