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Review

George Cotsirilos Trio

Past Present

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by Ian Mann

June 23, 2010

/ ALBUM

This is a trio that seems happy in its collective skin and the music is correspondingly relaxed, confident and elegant.

George Cotsirilos Trio

“Past Present”

(OA2 Records OA2 22062)

George Cotsirilos is a jazz guitarist based in the San Francisco area. He and Robb Fisher, the bassist in this trio worked for years in the legendary local outfit the San Francisco Nighthawks. Together with the drummer on this date, Ron Marabuto, the members of the trio have worked with an impressive roll call of jazz artists including Cal Tjader, Pharoah Sanders, Pepper Adams, Tommy Flanagan and Steve Grossman and all are staple figures on the Bay Area jazz scene.

“Past Present” is Cotsirilos’ third album for OA2 following the earlier “Silenciosa” and “On The Rebop”. The new album is an understated collection of six Cotsirilos originals and four standards played in a swinging, unfussy style. It’s an unpretentious album that sticks to old fashioned jazz virtues. Cotsirilos favours a conventional “jazz guitar” sound eschewing the rock trappings deployed by many contemporary players. Fisher meanwhile is a supremely supportive bassist and a fluent and dexterous soloist. As for Marabuto he manages to insert a lot of detail into his playing without seeming to be overly fussy or busy. This is a trio that seems happy in its collective skin and the music is correspondingly relaxed, confident and elegant. “Past Present” is easy to listen to but it’s far too interesting and sophisticated to be dismissed with the now pejorative term “easy listening”.

The trio kick off with a Cotsirilos original “Good Wood”, the title a subtle nod of homage in the direction of pianist Cedar Walton. The guitarist’s nimble, bop influenced playing alternates between single note runs and slippery chord progressions as Fisher’s bass and Marabuto’s neatly energetic brush work subtly propel the music forward. There’s a fine solo from Fisher, as indeed there is on most of the selections here and all in all this is the sound of the trio setting its stall out. They bring similar virtues to bear on the two standards that follow, “Without A Song” and “The Way You Look Tonight” with Cotsirilos’ coolly elegant, pure toned guitar leading the way. Fisher makes significant solo contributions to each tune and Marabuto’s drumming remains the epitome of good taste. 

A quartet of Cotsirilos originals follow. “Franny’s Jump” is in the same lively, boppish vein as the opener but the title track sees Costirilos covering fresh territory. For years the Chicago born musician studied classical guitar and here he plays acoustic guitar which brings a welcome touch of variety to the album. His cleanly picked acoustic sound brings the “Spanish tinge” to the music as he adds a touch of flamenco. Fisher’s solo is relaxed and expressive and Marabuto’s understated percussion reveals a more impressionistic side to his playing.

The jaunty"Rosie’s Tune” is pretty much business as usual and “Café 4 Cats”, dedicated to a favourite bar in Barcelona, is suitably celebratory in tone with closely meshed guitar, bass and drums. Both tunes feature the now customary feature from Fisher and nimble, inventive drumming from Marabuto. The trio continue with this methodology with a lively reading of the standard “Bittersweet” that contains a series of tasteful drum breaks from the excellent Marabuto.

Cotsirilos’ 2003 album “Silencosia” was a solo guitar recording which saw the guitarist mixing his jazz and classical influences. His cover of Anthony Newley’s “What Kind Of Fool Am I?” reprises this recording as Costirilos picks up a nylon string classical guitar. His picking on the classical instrument is as clean and assured as his jazz guitar work and this change of sound and mood adds a welcome touch of variety to the album.

The trio close with the Latin tinged blues of “Cual Problema”, a neat and jaunty encapsulation of all the trio’s considerable virtues.

Cotsirilos had done the rock and blues stuff back in Michigan but since moving to California and studying jazz guitar with the instructor Warren Nunes he has adopted an unadorned “less is more” approach to the instrument, also rediscovering his early classical leanings in the process. Throughout “Past Present” Cotsirilos’ playing is assured and tasteful but there is plenty of invention going on behind the polished fa?ade. Fisher and Marabuto are superb accompanists and although it’s not strikingly original or an album that’s about to pull up any trees there’s something innately likeable about this amiable but never bland music with it’s impeccable swing and clean, graceful but sometimes tricky melody lines. The album’s liner notes describe the trio as a “blue collar band” and I suspect that they’re the kind of outfit for whom world wide fame is unlikely to ever come knocking but who always deliver on the night. Cotsirilos has toured internationally but most of his work is still done in the Bay Area where he is something of a local jazz hero. Check him out if you can.

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