Jazz Connection Magazine

Sophomore Project By Jazz Wunderkind Peter Cincotti Puts Listeners On The Moon

Jazz sensation Peter Cincotti, above, released his much-anticipated sophomore CD last month for Concord Records,

On The Moon. The new release is the follow up to his critically acclaimed self-titled debut which reached Number One

on the traditional jazz charts last year. On The Moon features four Cincotti originals. - Photo by Nel Katz

Peter Cincotti (pronounced Sin-KOTTIE) says he likes to take his listeners on musical journeys. The dapper 21-year-old jazz pianist-crooner-songwriter-arranger released a new CD last month that he hopes will take his fans out of this world.

On The Moon, his highly-anticipated second album for Concord Records, showcases a more self-confident, a more polished, and a more artistically-driven Cincotti, who became one of the hottest pop and jazz sensations to hit the scene last year. The new release is the follow up to his critically acclaimed self-titled debut which sky rocketed to Number One on the Billboard Traditional Jazz Charts and secured for the jazz wunderkind a place in history by becoming the youngest solo artist to do so.

"I hope my new album lets listeners inside my world a little bit," said Cincotti via telephone from his apartment in Manhattan. "It's a very personal album. I hope it takes them somewhere, on a journey. I hope it makes them feel something. That's what it's all about."

On the twelve-track disc of eclectic material, Cincotti puts contemporary and infectious twists on standards such as St. Louis Blues, I Love Paris, Bali Ha'i, You Don't Know Me and Cherokee while contributing four stunning original compositions to the mix. (See Peter Cincotti On The Moon CD)

"The concept of this record really had to do with my original songs," Cincotti said. "I wanted my original music to be the core of this record. Any other song, even if it's a standard or a cover from a different generation, I wanted it to follow in the footsteps of my original stuff. What I mean by that is, finding material that I can connect to and almost treating it as an original song. For example, I took standards like I Love Paris and St. Louis Blues and treated them as if they were original songs, to see how I would record them as if I had written them."

Presenting such material as if he had composed them himself is a hard and challenging process, Cincotti admitted, because of the pervasive influence of the original versions that have a tendency to "stick" in one's head.

"I had that struggle on my first record with the song, Ain't Misbehavin'," he said. "I wasn't sure if I wanted to record it because it was done so many times. I never wanted to just make a standards record. I wanted to really find myself within that song and I ended up writing a different arrangement and paying tribute to Fats Waller. On the new record, it's escalated more. The standards that I've done are certainly a lot more personal and farther away from the original versions."

Each standard has its own story as to how it was chosen to be on the new CD, Cincotti said. He shared the background on the re-conception of two of those standards: St. Louis Blues and Bali Ha'i.

"I went to hear a friend play in a band at the Village Vanguard and the band closed the set with St. Louis Blues," Cincotti recalled. "They played the song in a very different way. It was done in a slow, New Orleans style, the way it was originally written. I then started hearing this different kind of approach to this song. I went home and figured it out. After collaborating with members of my band, the result is what is heard on the record."

What was waxed is a metro-funk version of the W.C. Handy classic that includes some torrid piano playing by the jazz boy wonder.

Bali Ha'i is the type of tune that Cincotti would never have considered as part of his repertoire if he hadn't been hired to play for a private event that required him to perform a Rodgers and Hart song, he said.

"I came across Bali Ha'i in a Richard Rodgers songbook while I was looking for material to play for this private event," Cincotti said. "It was not a Rodgers and Hart tune but a Rodgers and (Oscar) Hammerstein II song. I discarded the song as something I would never do because of the original version, and I did not see myself in that original version. But something made me turn back to the page and I started looking at the song and I started hearing this other arrangement. I got all excited about it. I couldn't do the song for the private event because it wasn't Rodgers and Hart. So, I ended up putting it on my record. If I never had to do this particular private event, Bali Ha'i probably wouldn't have been on my record."

The finished product is a get-down, funky blues rendition of the show-stopping tune from the World War II-based musical, South Pacific.

The balladeer-piano titian also expanded his sphere of influence to include two covers by singer-songwriter Carole King.

"Carole is someone that I've always liked," Cincotti said. "I love the collaboration between her and James Taylor. There's a quality there that is very personal."

Cincotti, as well as a number other artists of late, most notably label mate Karrin Allyson, have looked to the 1970s to inspire them for material. Cincotti produced a gently flowing arrangement of King's Some Kind Of Wonderful and a touching version of her retreatist gem, Up On The Roof.

"I was attracted to Up On The Roof because it fit into the theme of this record in a lot of ways," Cincotti said. "On The Moon has the sense of being excluded from the world, a sense of loneliness, a sense of separation. Up On The Roof shares that. The song seemed to fit in. It's a song I always connected to and that's why it's on the record."

King was also pleased that her tunes are on the record, giving two thumbs up to Cincotti for his efforts.

"She called me and told me that she was so flattered," Cincotti said. "She said she loved the renditions. I was on the floor just to hear from her! She was making a record with my producer, Phil Ramone, and he played her the cuts since we had just finished recording them."

The album's only instrumental, Cherokee, showcases Cincotti's fleet-fingered wizardry on the keyboards.

Blasting off with Cincotti on the extra-terrestrial musical trek are members of his ace recording/touring band: saxophonist Scott Kreitzer; bassist Barak Mori; and drummers Mark McLean and Kenny Washington. Also coming along for the ride on selected tracks are trombonist Wycliffe Gordon; saxophonist Brad Leali; guitarist Jeffrey Mironov; Hammond B-3 organist Sam Yahel; harmonica player William Galison; and concert master Elena Barere leading the string ensemble.

Adding a touch of heavenly elegance to the proceedings were lush string and horn arrangements courtesy of Rob Mounsey and Rob Mathes. Working with these two veteran arrangers was an education in and of itself for Cincotti, he said.

"They were amazing," Cincotti said. "They really made the record come to life. It was such a great process! We had open communication between us, too. There were certain things I was hearing that they respected and incorporated. It wasn't about handing over the charts so they could write the arrangements. It was one of collaboration. I felt honored to have worked with them."

While Cincotti was creative concerning his arrangements on the standards and cover tunes for On The Moon, the very soul of the new album is found in his original works. On it, the precocious musician expanded his talents as a songwriter and took great care as to how he wanted those songs presented.

"I had a handful of original songs I knew I wanted to record," Cincotti said. "With this record, I knew what I wanted but I also knew there was a lot to figure out. I wanted to take the time to find the right way to record them and to see what would really represent this song and the emotion I was feeling when I wrote it. I wanted to be honest with that. It took a lot more time. It was a very different process from my first record. The first record I made like in three days. This record took several months. This record involved a lot more than my first record because I wanted to find certain instruments to bring out a certain sound. It's an endless world there to explore."

While ideas for songs are usually born out of some level of personal experience, that wasn't the case for Cincotti. His four compositions - He's Watching, The Girl For Me Tonight, I'd Rather Be With You, and the album's title track - are reflective of just stories he wanted to tell, he said.

"To be honest, these songs might be connected to certain emotions for different experiences that I had, but really no one song is a reflection of a personal experience," Cincotti said. "I look at these songs as stories that I wanted to tell. Some of which I'm more connected with and some I'm not connected with at all. On The Moon really isn't about any story from a personal experience. It's a story that I wanted to tell and I approached it like it was a mini-movie. Right now I'm writing a song that's so far removed from personnel experience, it's more of a story."

Probably the most poignant of all the Cincotti originals on this new album is the song, He's Watching, written to honor his late father, Fred, who died suddenly of a heart attack on the doorsteps of a New York Club where his then 13-year-old son was performing.

"For me, personally, it was in reference to my father," Cincotti said. "I don't even like to say that because it's a very universal song and I want the listener to garner whatever meaning they can for themselves. I wouldn't want my reason for writing the song to taint their connection with the song. It could be about anything."

While Cincotti's first album achieved such phenomenal commercial success, subsequent projects, in the minds of some critics, would have to equal or surpass it. Although some artists experience a "sophomore jinx" toward any hopeful successes with their second albums, Cincotti felt no pressure, real or imagined, of having to "outdo" his inaugural recording project, he said.

"No, I didn't feel any of that pressure only because there wasn't even really a choice for me," he said. "By the time I got to the studio, it was obvious as to what I had to record. It wasn't about searching for material that would be better than what was on my first album. It wasn't even about that at all. I've been on tour these last two years and after two years of writing music and lyrics, which I've never done before my first record, writing lyrics changed the whole process of song writing. I started writing a lot more and just listened more to music. Over two years things change, things develop. By the time I hit the studio, I couldn't wait to let it out. There was no real 'search' other than finding the right way to record the material. As far as the material itself was concerned, most of it was known by the time we got to the studios. There were some exploring of some songs that we wanted to find to fit into this core that we had."

While it's inevitable to compare Cincotti's two albums, it is also difficult to do so because of the time span between the two recordings, Cincotti said.

"They were done at different times," he said. "If I had made my first record a year before I did, that record would be a very different record. If I had made this record a year earlier or a year later, it too, would be different. It's all about timing. Every time I make a record I want it to be representative of where ever I am at that point in time in my life. And this record certainly is."

Cincotti's whirlwind rise to fame began when he was born on July 11, 1983, in Manhattan, the youngest of two children. Jazz music was always played in his

home while growing up. He began playing the piano on his third birthday, after receiving a 12-key toy keyboard from his grandmother who taught the toddler how to play Happy Birthday on it. He played by ear until he was four, when his parents, Cynthia, a former real estate broker and former Good Housekeeping art director, and Fred, an attorney, decided it was time for their son to take formal instruction and purchased a Baldwin.

Cincotti credits his mother for opening his "eyes and ears to the world of music." At age 7, he began performing as a protégé of multi-Grammy Award-winning pianist-singer Harry Connick, Jr. The story is told that Cincotti was too sick to attend a Village Vanguard performance by his favor star. Cincotti's older sister, Pia, then 10, visited Connick backstage, bringing him flowers and audio recording of her brother. After listening to the tape, Connick invited the young prodigy to perform with him that same year. Since then, Cincotti has joined Connick on stage at venues throughout the country, including Bally's Grand in Atlantic City and The Paramount at Madison Square Garden.

At age 9, Cincotti began composing music and later, his mother contributed her artistic talents as lyricist. Together, the mother and son team worked together to produce about 15 songs. Recently, sister Pia, also joined the team helping her brother put words to his music.

At age 15, Cincotti began incorporating vocals into his performances. While attending Horace Mann School in nearby Riverdale, Cincotti played in various jazz clubs throughout Manhattan, including Feinstein's At The Regency, Joe's Pub, and at the Knickerbocker on Wednesdays through Saturdays after school. He played piano in the off-Broadway show, Our Sinatra, participated in the national Grammy Band, and was honored in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest for his composition, Big Bad Daddy. He also won a prestigious award at the 2000 Montreux Jazz Festival for his piano rendition of Dizzy Gillespie's A Night In Tunisia.

In addition, Cincotti holds the distinction of being the youngest performer at age 18 ever to play in the 100-year history of the Algonquin Hotel's Oak Room. He's also been invited to the White House, where he played piano for Secret Service personnel, wowed audiences at the 2001 Grammy Awards and at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, performed with the Boston Pops Orchestra last year, and was a guest celebrity in the 2003 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

He's completed his sophomore year at Columbia University but has put his studies on temporary hold, taking a leave of absence, until he completes this current tour in support of his new CD, he said.

"It's hard to juggle both school and touring," Cincotti said. "I want to give it my all when I do return back to school."

The next scheduled Northern California performance by the crooner deluxe and his crew is slated for April 30, 2005, at the University of California, Berkeley.

Since becoming a solo artist, Cincotti has been written about in all the New York newspapers, in major newspapers across the country, and in publications such as Variety, Vanity Fair, Glamour, and Teen Vogue. He was also named "Sexiest Singer" for 2003 in the December 1 issue of People Magazine.

Cincotti has appeared on television's Live With Regis And Kelly, NBC's Today Show, the CBS Sunday Morning Show, and in an episode of the daytime soap opera, The Young And The Restless.

He also made a cameo appearance leading his band in this year's Spider-Man 2 movie.

"I wasn't even thinking I was going to make it on the film," Cincotti said of his eye-blinking appearance in the web-slinging super hero's movie sequel. "So many of these things wind up on the cutting room floor. My friends saw the movie before I did. I was happy to hear I was even in it even though it's for a second. I was with some of my friends when I did see it. We just started laughing (laughs)."

Peter Cincotti, fore front, poses with members of his band: (r-l)

drummer Mark McLean; saxophonist Scott Kreitzer; and bassist

Barak Mori.

Adding to his cinematic resume, Cincotti has a featured role in the upcoming Lion's Gate film, Beyond The Sea, based on the life of the late singer Bobby Darin. The film, directed by and starring Kevin Spacey as the famed singer, also stars Bob Hoskins, John Goodman, Brenda Blethyn, and Kate Bosworth. Cincotti portrays Dick Behrke, Darin's musical arranger.

"Doing this movie was an unbelievable experience," Cincotti said. "I was shooting the movie in Berlin for about three months. This movie and the Spider-Man 2 film was very much a musical experience. I don't consider myself an actor. What I'm doing is what I do."

"The life I was portraying is the life I have been living," he said. "I've been on tour. I've been traveling playing music, playing cards during sound check. All this other stuff we had to 'act' in the movie, I've been living this life. I remember going out on tour for a bit, then going back to Berlin to resume shooting. Back and forth, back and forth. Every time I tour, I kind of reenact in front of the camera of what I was living. It was very close to home."

Cincotti also spent time at London's Abbey Road Studios working as a sideman helping to pre-record the film's musical soundtrack, he said.

"I valued being a sideman very much because that's an education as well," he said. "It's a position I'm not usually in. I know there's a lot to gain from it in relation to having to play with different musicians, playing someone else's arrangements, playing someone else's songs, and playing in different keys."

The first public release of Beyond The Sea is set to open in movie theaters in late November, according to Lion's Gate Films.

The heart throb balladeer can also be heard singing a duet with14-year-old actress Rene Olstead on her newly released self-titled debut album (143 Records-Reprise) on the Neil Sedaka signature hit, Breaking Up Is Hard To Do. Co-starring in the CBS-TV comedy, Still Standing, Olstead has been turning heads as of late with her powerful voice and her wise-beyond-her-years musical sensibilities.

"Rene has an amazing voice," Cincotti said. "She's so young, yet sounds so mature. She's great. I enjoyed recording with her."

As Cincotti's amazing whirlwind continues to gain more momentum, he feels in many ways that he is already "on the moon" career-wise, he said.

"I don't know what to feel sometimes," he said with a laugh. "I'm just doing what I do. I'm touring. I'm excited that this record is out. I can't wait to go on tour to support that. There's just a lot to look forward to."

While the view from the moon may be spectacular, it can still be a bit overwhelming, Cincotti said.

"It's exciting but it's overwhelming, too," he said. "Whenever I think about it, then I try not to think about it. I just go back to the music. It helps keep me sane, I think."

Cincotti has been credited as one of a handful of young artists on the scene today who has helped introduce the "old" but timeless music to the X, Y, Z Generation. Some of his peers are still getting acquainted with this music and some have mistakenly assumed that he wrote many of the standards that currently appear on his new album, he said.

Peter Cincotti at the piano wowing the audience at the Carriage House

Theatre at Villa Montalvo in Saratoga, CA, on Sept. 18, 2003.

- Photo by Stephen Fratallone/Jazz Connection Magazine

"A lot of my friends don't know whether I wrote some of those songs or not," Cincotti said. "It's an interesting mix. It's cool. I wanted to make sure I put myself in whatever song I do. I wanted put that same emotion as I do in my original stuff into the songs I didn't write. The whole thing is really about not having to rely on a third party to express yourself. When you are writing lyrics and music, you are creating one hundred percent of what you want to say and what you want to create. It's very personal. I wanted to take that same thing with the standards and try to make them personal."

With On the Moon, Cincotti has extended that personal approach to song writing and performance to the next level. He's well on his way to perfecting his own craft with a hunger, honesty, perseverance, and an unbounding determination to create good music. Yet, in the midst of current accolades, the direction he will take with his music is somewhat like the song, Que Sera, Sera... whatever will be, will be.

"It keeps changing every day," Cincotti said. "It's naturally evolving. Never once do I say, 'Now, I'm going to write a pop song.' I never think about music like that. To me, it's all under the one category of music. Whatever comes out of me, is what comes out of me. I'm anxious to see where it goes. I want to keep writing music, to keep arranging. I'd love to collaborate with different people, maybe different people who have a different approach to music than I do and to see what develops. Let things take its natural course."