On The Rebop

George Cotsirilos is relatively unknown outside the San Francisco jazz community. He plays guitar beautifully, with great phrasing and a genuine jazz feel.

"On the Rebop" features Cotsirilos' trio, which includes Robb Fisher (acoustic bass) and Ron Marabuto (drums). These two musicians also work primarily around the Bay Area, and actually are better known that Cotsirilos.

Fisher toured with Cal Tjader's group for more than six years, and also has played with Chet Baker, Art Pepper and a number of Latin-based performers. Marabuto has worked with a number of jazz luminaries, including Pepper Adams and Tommy Flanagan.

This CD clearly demonstrates the years of varied experience shared by these three musicians. Their playing melds beautifully, and you can tell they're enjoying themselves.

Two of the tunes ("I'm Old Fashioned" and "The Nearness of You") are played as straight ballads; a third ("Gale") is done in a quiet Latin meter; the rest are up-tempo. Five, including the title track, were written by Cotsirilos.

Finally, just to prove that these guys can play in any style, the Charlie Parker/ Dizzy Gillespie bop anthem, "Anthropology," is given a new wax job. The by-play between guitar and bass is masterful, while Marabuto gives a perfect demonstration of the "drums should be felt, rather than heard" rule.

This instrumentation � guitar, bass and drums � is relatively uncommon for a jazz trio. Joe Pass recorded with a similar group, and Cotsirilos' trio belongs in that company. This is a rich and moving jazz experience.