George Cotsirilos Trio - Past Present

To listen to Past Present without a modicum of background knowledge on San Francisco guitarist George Cotsirilos, while unquestionably enjoyable, would be like starting the first chapter of an important book without first reading the forward which can provide the reader with information to facilitate greater enjoyment and comprehension of the material.  And, so it is with Past Present. The George Cotsirilos Trio is a modern jazz guitar trio and as such one might expect to hear flashy guitar runs and electronic enhancements (distortion, wah-wah), not so on this recording. Knowing that Cotsirilos learned guitar by emulating traditional jazz greats such as Kenny Burrell and Charlie Byrd helps explain his clean, round, unadulterated sound. His technical mastery is immediately apparent but he does not stoop to self-indulgent hooky licks, or over-the-top misplaced breakneck runs. Knowing that Cotsirilos has a love of classical music (he played violin as a child) and that his first CD, Silenciosa, was a solo classical style guitar solo of standards enhances our appreciation of the beautiful rendition here of “What Kind Of Fool Am I?” on classical style nylon string guitar. Cotsirilos studied piano in high school, so it is not surprising then to find out that Track 1, “Good Wood,” is offered as a tribute to bop pianist Cedar Walton. And, blue notes scattered throughout emanate from his love of 1960s blues greats B.B. King and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band...MORE...