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, cabaret singer Jane Olivor, Bill Evans bassist, Chuck Israels, and the jazz/soul vocal group, The Whispers.

In addition to working as an accompanist, he was co-leader of the San Francisco Nighthawks, which included drummer Eddie Marshall, Bobby McFerrin pianist Paul Nagel, and former Cal Tjader bassist Robb Fisher. The group recorded for Monarch Records and performed at various venues, including the Monterey Jazz Festival.

In addition to the ensemble recordings featured on this site, including the new trio CD, Past Present, on OA2/Origin Records, Cotsirilos's solo CD, Silenciosa, released on OA2/Orgin Records, is a compilation of jazz tunes performed on solo classical guitar.

A graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, Cotsirilos studied classical guitar privately through the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and jazz with renowned musician and educator, Warren Nunes.