On the Rebop in Bloomington, MN

Guitarist
George Cotsirilos
picks up the rest of his trio for his sophomore album. The sound is somewhat what one would expect from a journeyman of
Cotsirilos
' experience, with slight influences from
blues
,
pop
avant-garde jazz
classical
, and
Latin
music. However, the music takes a direction all his own, tackling a mix of originals and classics. While the pieces covered are primarily of the usual songbooks (
Johnny Mercer
Jerome Kern
Hoagy Carmichael
), there's also a surprise from the
bop
era with
Dizzy
and
Bird
's
"Anthropology,"
which gives
the opportunity to bubble his guitar through some faster lines and show off his virtuosity. While this album gives him room to shine, especially in his compositions, at the same time it feels somewhat flat. The tenderness of
Silenciosa
is only partially present, and disappears on occasion when he moves into more difficult passages. Pick up
first, but this one is still worth plenty of listening. ~ Adam Greenberg