Guitarists Bert Lams and Fabio Mittino
release Long Ago, a collection of Gurdjieff/De Hartman compositions arranged for two guitars

Robert Fripp first introduced Bert Lams of the California Guitar Trio to Italian guitarist Fabio Mittino in 1998 during a music convention in London. A few years later, Lams and Mittino found themselves traveling back and forth between Milan and the US for rehearsals and concerts, excited to work on this new music project: transcriptions and arrangements of music by Gurdjieff/De Hartman, arranged for two guitars. The result is their new release, Long Ago.

Gurdjieff was a philosopher from Russian/Armenian descent. He had the remarkable gift of remembering music he had heard during his early travels in Asia and the Middle East. Many years later he sang and played the melodies to Russian composer Thomas De Hartmann; together they created over 300 pieces between 1918 and 1927. 

The music of Gurdjieff and De Hartmann may seem simple, with short pieces that lack any pretension to elaborate formal construction, yet it often turns in unexpected directions, revealing itself as powerful, fascinating and deeply affecting. In the final words of his book Our Life with Mr Gurdjieff, Thomas de Hartmann says: “Listening to this music one was touched to the depth of his being…” 

Lams and Mittino selected acoustic Gibson arch top guitars, built in the 1930’s, to record Long Ago. “These vintage instruments help create the authentic and intimate character of the album,” says Lams.  “No effects were added to the recordings: when you listen, it is as if we are playing very close to you, in your living room. The music on Long Ago covers a vast territory: Armenian songs, Hindu melodies, Kurdish melodies, an Orthodox Hymn, and several Sayyid dances, … most of it never been played on the guitar before. Arranging and discovering this music was like opening a treasure chest. We immensely enjoyed discovering these hidden gems and we feel that this wonderful music deserves to be heard and played.”

Bert Lams

Bert Lams studied classical guitar with Monique Vigneron and Albert Sundermann (A. Sundermann was a student of Andres Segovia.) at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels, Belgium where he graduated with honors in 1984.

He has conducted workshops for guitar students around the world, including master classes in Berlin, Paris, Buenos Aires, Santiago de Chile, Los Angeles, Tokyo and Mexico City.

Bert Lams is a founding member of the California Guitar Trio (CGT). In 1993, the California Guitar Trio released their first recording Yamanashi Blues on Discipline Records. In the same year, CGT completed a world tour with the Robert Fripp String Quintet, resulting in the recording The Bridge Between.

Streamed over 11 million times on Pandora, CGT's 14 albums offer diverse snapshots of the group’s mercurial muse. The trio’s most recent release Masterworks showcases its classical side, with expansive takes on Bach, Beethoven, Arvo Pärt, and Schubert. 

Besides the CGT, Bert Lams has released three albums:
2006: release of Nascent, featuring Bert's transcripts of Bach Preludes for solo steel string guitar.
2013: release of a duet CD with chapman stick player Tom Griesgraber, called Unnamed Lands
2015: release of CD Long Ago, with Italian guitarist Fabio Mittino. This album contains music from Gurdjieff/De Hartmann, arranged for two guitars.

Fabio Mittino

Fabio Mittino began playing guitar at age 13.  In 1998, he got involved with the international guitar school Guitar Craft under the tutelage of Robert Fripp & Bert Lams, drastically re-orienting the course of his musical development and views towards the guitar. 

From that moment, he kept going studying with this technique, playing as a session man and in various groups. Mittino has specialized in acoustic music, electronic pop music and experimental guitar both in studio and live, creating an unique style and sound of his own.

Along with his duo with Bert Lams, Mittino is part of the popular Italian band FLUON, with Andy Fluon from Bluvertigo.