Independently, guitarists Calvin Keys, Lloyd Gregory, and Carl Lockett are three of the most skilled musicians the San Francisco Bay Area has to offer. While each has played on stage and in the studio with a variety of music industry giants across the musical spectrum, they have also individually proven themselves worthy of the center stage attention they each command. They have united as a trio to spotlight what can only be described as a guitar trifecta. Friends for decades, the sum total of their years as professional musicians is over 150 years, each of them having started in their youth.

Eddie Pasternak is a remarkable guitarist and a beloved fixture of the San Francisco Bay Area music scene for over 25 years. Known for his warmth, wit, and effortless charm, Eddie brings a rare blend of musicianship, elegance, and style to every performance. Whether he’s swinging alongside former members of the Count Basie or Duke Ellington bands, energizing Motown dance floors, or setting the perfect tone at upscale hotels and major events, Eddie consistently captivates audiences. As music critic Lee Hildebrand notes, he’s a “remarkable guitarist who plays basslines and chords simultaneously” and “generates intense swing.” It’s this distinctive combination of talent and personality that makes Eddie the perfect choice for sophisticated venues across the Bay Area.

Lloyd Gregory grew up in Cleveland where he had an aunt who played piano at their church; her influence prompted Gregory to begin playing the instrument at age 5. He ultimately became a multi-instrumentalist who learned to play trombone, drums, and cello in addition to piano and guitar, which he picked up at age 11. In his senior year of high school, he moved to Berkeley, where he put together his first band. After graduating from high school, he served as music director for the vocal groups The Ballads and The Natural Four as they toured with The Impressions, Stevie Wonder, James Brown, and Ike and Tina Turner. As a solo artist signed to various labels at one time or another, he has opened for Stanley Clarke, Phoebe Snow, Norman Brown, Bobby Caldwell, Chaka Khan, and The Whispers, among others. A well-respected guitar teacher, Gregory is a member of the faculty at The East Bay Center for the Performing Arts and offers private lessons. He has several CD releases: Wonderful, Only for You, Solo Guitar, Free Fallin’ and, Gentle Warrior.

Carl Lockett grew up as a musical child prodigy. His interest in music began with him behind the drums. He later learned to play the guitar and began his career as a professional guitarist at age 14, playing around the Bay Area. He has continued to work professionally for the past forty years with highly distinguished acts including The Edwin Hawkins Singers, Chuck Mangione, Randy Crawford, Jimmy Smith, Joey DeFrancesco, Tammy Terrell, Esther Phillips, The Platters, The Ink Spots, Big Mama Thornton, Jackie Wilson, Papa John Creach, Brook Benton, Dakota Staten, Bill Summers, David Ruffin, and many others. He has performed in diverse settings ranging from an organ trio that included Jimmy McGriff and Jimmy Smith to sitting in for Jerry Garcia. He has played the 1980 Winter Olympics, the North Sea, Montreux, Monterey jazz festivals and all three Blue Note clubs in Japan. So impressive is his playing that he was offered a sponsorship by guitar techs at Heritage Guitar Factory in Kalamazoo, Michigan, who’d witnessed one of his performances. They created for him a custom-made Heritage Golden Eagle. Lockett has independently released his own CD entitled Carl Lockett: All About Music.

Because of their many influences, styles, and professional experiences, these three amazing musicians have learned to adeptly fuse classical, jazz, and R&B, the results being smooth, soulful performances that will leave audiences with a clear understanding of why, when playing together, they are indeed
The Guitar Trifecta.