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George Cotsirilos
Originally from Chicago, George Cotsirilos has been a member of the San Francisco Bay Area jazz community for many years and has performed with a wide variety of artists, from San Francisco jazz fixtures like Eddie Marshall, Mel Martin, Pharaoh Sanders and Mark Levine to internationally recognized blues singer Etta James, Bill Evans bassist Chuck Israels, and the jazz/soul vocal group, The Whispers. His 2022 quartet CD, Refuge, has received wide acclaim, is a Downbeat Editors' Pick and Downbeat named it one of the best albums of 2022. His 2018 quartet CD, Mostly In Blue, recieved equal acclaim and Downbeat named it one of the best albums of 2018. Cotsirilos's earlier trio CD's, On The Rebop, Past Present and Variations have also been well recieved: for example, Washington Post jazz critic, Royal Stokes named the 2013 trio recording, Variations one of the most notable recordings of 2013.
Cotsirilos graduated from the University of California at Berkeley, studied jazz with esteemed musician/educator Warren Nunes, and studied classical guitar privately through the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Awards
2022-George Cotsirilos Quartet CD, Refuge, named a Downbeat Magazine Editors' Picke and named as one of the best albums of 2022: 2018-Downbeat Magazine- George Cotsirilos Quartet CD, "Mostly In Blue," named as one of the 100 Best CD's of 2018.
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George Cotsirilos Quartet: Refuge
by Jack Bowers
At a troubling and turbulent time, when many jazz albums seek to convey a “message," the only statement that Chicago-bred, San Francisco-based guitarist George Cotsirilos and his able quartet wish to make on Refuge is that swing remains king in their domain, wielding its magisterial influence over ten of Cotsirilos' sunny compositions and arrangements. Even when Cotsirilos eases back on the accelerator, as he does on “The Three Doves" and “Smoke Signal," an undercurrent of persuasive rhythms ...
read moreGeorge Cotsirilos: George Cotsirilos Trio - Variations
by C. Michael Bailey
Variations, guitarist George Cotsirilos' sixth recording, is a well-behaved trio affair in keeping with his more recent recordings like Past Present (OA2 Records, 2010). Cotsirilos plays with an acoustically round electric tone that never gets in the way of his fluid lines and well- considered melodies. His seven original compositions all have standards handle to them, in particular, the opener, “A Walk for Ethel," which recalls “I Get a Kick Out of You" crossed with “Scrapple from the Apple." Cotsirilos ...
read moreGeorge Cotsirilos: Past Present
by Raul d'Gama Rose
George Cotsirilos' meticulous and tasteful guitar work is marked by remarkably subtle shifts in accents, and minute changes in expression and dynamics. On Past Present, he also displays an impeccable sense of timin,g especially in revealing the hidden rhythms of complex melodies. His approach to harmony is whimsical, but patently beautiful at all times. He is fleet-fingered across the fret board and equally expressive as he plucks the strings of his guitar, or simply rolls over them with fingertips, like ...
read moreGeorge Cotsirilos Trio: Past Present
by Woodrow Wilkins
This recording delivers vintage jazz guitar but nothing that sounds trite or old. The George Cotsirilos Trio delivers that with a mix of original tunes and standards on Past Present. Born in Chicago, Cotsirilos has been a fixture in the San Francisco area since the early 1990s. Trained with the violin, he switched to guitar after becoming frustrated that the violin could not produce pop and jazz sounds he had come to love. After studying at the University ...
read moreGeorge Cotsirilos: Past Present
by Bruce Lindsay
Guitarist George Cotsirilos has nearly thirty years experience as a musician, working with acts as diverse as Etta James and Pharoah Sanders. He was also, with bassist Robb Fisher, a founding member of the San Francisco Nighthawks. Past Present is the second album from the Cotsirilos Trio, following On The Rebop (OA2 Records, 2005), and it's a graceful and sophisticated mix of standards and Cotsirilos originals. Cotsirilos' playing is characterized above all by its warmth. Coupled with ...
read moreGeorge Cotsirilos Trio: Past Present
by C. Michael Bailey
Mainstream guitar trio jazz possesses a soundtrack quality that makes it perfect for sleek and sophisticated noir movies boasting sardonic shamuses and dangerous dames. George Cotsirilos typifies this type of jazz guitar playing. If jazz guitar had an aroma, Cotsirilos' brand would smell of Yardley Soap, single-malt scotch, and unfiltered cigarettes in close quarters: dark and slightly decadent, full-bodied, and warm. On his third OA2 release, Past Present Cotsirilos and his working trio mix up the standards ...
read moreGeorge Cotsirilos: 'Refuge'
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
I loved George Cotsirilos's guitar the moment I heard it. His sound is shrewd and seasoned and he has a refined sense of history. There's ample swing, soul-jazz and a keen sense of fusion in his playing, and I can hear Grant Green's plucking, Pat Metheny's articulation, Joe Pass's chords and John Scofield's note-bending in his playing. Backing Cotsirilos on his superb newly released album, Refuge (OA2), are Keith Saunders (piano), Robb Fisher (bass) and Ron Marabuto (drums). Born in ...
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San Francisco Bay Area Guitarist/Composer George Cotsirilos Deepens His Explorations With New Quartet Date 'Refuge,' Due May 20 On Oa2 Records
Source:
Terri Hinte Publicity
George Cotsirilos pushes into new frontiers with the May 20 release of Refuge (OA2). The guitarist and composer’s follow-up to his acclaimed 2018 album Mostly in Blue again features his quartet—pianist Keith Saunders, bassist Robb Fisher, and drummer Ron Marabuto—but repositions them both in pursuit of new challenges and, if anything, even more “in blue.” Cotsirilos added piano to his longtime trio in 2018, hoping to express the denser harmonies he was hearing in his writing. The success of the ...
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Bay Area Guitarist/Composer George Cotsirilos To Release "Mostly In Blue," His 6th Album, Jan. 19 On OA2 Records
Source:
Terri Hinte Publicity
Jazz guitarist/composer George Cotsirilos had previously recorded mostly in a trio setting with longtime associates Robb Fisher on bass and Ron Marabuto on drums. For his forthcoming sixth CD, Mostly in Blue, he expanded to a quartet, with pianist Keith Saunders, to shake up his approach a bit but also in the interests of being true to the music he was hearing in his head. OA2 Records will release the new CD on January 19. “I started hearing a little ...
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“Sublimely fluid jazz guitar skills.” - David Wiegand, San Francisco Chronicle “One of today’s finest jazz guitarists and composers, Cotsirilos has an unerring sense of swing and melody. His solos, while displaying accuracy and technique, are filled with soul." - John Heidt, Vintage Guitar Magazine "George Cotsirilos' meticulous and tasteful guitar work is marked by remarkably subtle shifts in accents, and minute changes in expression and dynamics. He displays an impeccable sense of timing especially in revealing the hidden rhythms of complex melodies. His approach to harmony is whimsical, but patently beautiful at all times." - Raul D'Gama Rose, All About Jazz
Music
Devolution
From: RefugeBy George Cotsirilos
Mostly in Blue
From: Mostly in BlueBy George Cotsirilos
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