Whitewater
The California Guitar Trio is all about precision. Their compositions are hard, etched diamonds, played with the kind of detail a jeweler could admire. One of their favorite tricks, derived from their time withRobert Fripp's League of Crafty Guitarists, is to pass the melody of a piece, one note at a time, among the three musicians. Put on the headphones to really appreciate this effect on "Prelude Circulation BWV 988." The circulation concept is more than a parlor trick, and they don't do it often, but it speaks to the single-minded, yet orchestral approach of CGT. It reveals itself in the haunting melody of "The Marsh," and on the high energy goof of "Red Iguana." WithWhitewater, CGT expands their palette a bit, processing their acoustic guitars for electric lead lines ranging from the siren sustained melody on "Atlantis" to a Hendrixian freakout on "Led Foot."  They leave the sometimes shtick-like covers of Beethoven andQueenoff this disc, although they end the CD with a fun interpolation ofEddy Arnold's "Ghost Riders in the Sky" and theDoors' "Riders on the Storm." But most ofWhitewaterconsists of original compositions where CGT reveals the possibilities of their sound in what might be the best album in their 13-year existence. --John Diliberto