• Peter Cincotti, Presented by Clint Eastwood. 2003 Monterey JazzFest, CA

• Photo © by Artamia. Monterey, California US:
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• PETER CINCOTTI •

Presented by Clint Eastwood on 2003 CNN Interview at Monterey Jazz Festival. Peter Cincotti is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He started playing a toy piano at the age of three. While in high school, he regularly performed at clubs throughout Manhattan and performed at the White House. At the 2000 Montreux Jazz Festival, he won an award for a rendition of Dizzy Gillespie's "A Night in Tunisia." In 2002, he reached No. 1 on the Billboard Traditional jazz Charts, the youngest solo artist to do so to date (b. 07.11.1983, New York City).

• Peter Cincotti, the 26 year-old singer-songwriter-pianist, brings to life a fresh, cinematic world on his new Warner Bros. album EAST OF ANGEL TOWN. His profoundly evocative songs tell stories woven into melodies that are both individual and universal. Although the native New Yorker has been writing music since the age of 9, EAST OF ANGEL TOWN marks Cincotti's first work of all original material.

• Exploring musical styles that blend pop, rock, blues, funk and jazz, Cincotti's percussive piano playing and rich vocals infuse each song with a startling energy. "I wanted each song to come alive in the studio with the same freshness they had when they were first written," he says. "Every element of the production needed to reflect that quality and, more importantly, serve the meaning of the song."

• With topics ranging from the seductive world of Los Angeles ("Angel Town"), male/female dynamics in today's society, ("Be Careful"), a symbolic song of loss, ("Goodbye Philadelphia"), loneliness and love in New York City ("Cinderella Beautiful"), each song tells a unique tale. These stories musically paint characters, both familiar and uncommon, that leave one with the feeling of having walked all day on the streets of Manhattan. When asked if such topics are autobiographical, Cincotti replies, "I think every expression is autobiographical-either literally or symbolically. I don't think it's possible to create something that isn't."

• The realization of EAST OF ANGEL TOWN began when Cincotti teamed up with noted producer and l4-time Grammy winner David Foster, producer Humberto Gatica, and producer/sound designer Jochem van der Saag. "We all worked so closely together every step of the way, and I feel lucky to have had such a tremendous team help me bring this album to life." Cincotti also collaborated with award-winning lyricist John Bettis. "Writing with John has been such a special experience for me. He's been a partner on this record from the beginning and was the only collaborator I wanted to work with."

• EAST OF ANGEL TOWN's punchy, dynamic sound is simultaneously classic and modern. "This album is very much about the old and the new. Not only within the songs themselves, but also in the way we recorded them. I wanted to combine the classic way of live recording with the many elements of modern production."

• In a way, Cincotti has been combining the old and new ever since he burst onto the scene at age l9 when his debut album - filled with stellar interpretations of jazz standards - led him to become the youngest musician ever to claim the top spot on Billboard's Jazz chart. With his expressive voice, prodigious piano talent and understated charisma, Cincotti soon found his career in a whirlwind that included rapturous press (The New York Times called him "one of the most promising singer-pianists of the next generation").

• And how would Peter Cincotti describe the theme of his new record - these brilliant observations and glimpses into the world around him, these stark portraits of unfinished lives? "Well, it's just that I'm always asking myself," he says with a sly, mischievous grin- "What the hell's going on here?"

• Cincotti appeared in a small role in the 2004 Bobby Darin biopic Beyond the Sea and contributed to the film's soundtrack. He also had a small role as the Piano Player in the Haden Planetarium in Spider-Man 2. His song "December Boys" is featured in the 2007 film December Boys, starring Daniel Radcliffe. His self-titled debut album is a compilation of traditional jazz songs, while his second album, On the Moon, featured some of the artist's own songs. His latest work, East of Angel Town, features all original works by the artist and was released in 2007 in Europe and in January 2009 in USA.

• This new work began when Cincotti teamed up with producer David Foster (who signed him to a new contract on his Reprise/Warner Bros.-distributed 143 Records), producer Humberto Gatica, and producer/sound designer Jochem van der Saag.

•
•

:: Peter Cincotti :: Boy Genius

www.jazzreview.com/

Artist Interview by: Donna Kimura

Wearing a dapper dark suit and yellow tie, Peter Cincotti sits behind a piano, tickling the ivories and crooning songs that pre-date him by more than a few decades. At 19, he’s a throwback to another time and place – an era when singers dressed to impress and sang songs that were timeless.
But far from being a retro act, Cincotti is the freshest face on the jazz scene. He’s not just brushing the dust off songs like “How High The Moon” and “Miss Brown,” he’s making them cool again. “They may be old songs to you, but they’re new to me,” he tells a San Francisco audience in his disarming way.

With his good looks and musical chops, many are already counting on the young New Yorker to bring jazz to a new generation of listeners. The buzz has been building for a year.

In 2002, Cincotti became the youngest performer to headline the Algonquin Hotel’s famed Oak Room. Now, his self-titled debut CD is ready to come out on Concord Records in March. Phil Ramone, the noted producer behind the album, calls Cincotti, “the freshest old soul to come along in ages.”

A sophomore at Columbia University, the unfailingly polite and upbeat Cincotti isn’t just wrapping his baritone voice around the Great American Songbook. He composed three of the songs on the new CD. His mother, Cynthia, provided the lyrics.

JazzReview.com recently caught up with Cincotti back in New York, where he is in the midst of a return engagement at the Oak Room. He talked about the new CD, his family and his busy life.

JazzReview.com: What kind of statement or message did you want to deliver with your debut CD?

Peter Cincotti: “There were a few things. For one, the record had to be truly representative of where I am musically at this point in my life. I’m 19, and hopefully my record at 25 will be different. I wanted it to be an honest representation.

As far as the message of the record, or more likely the theme, Phil Ramone, who produced the record, and I wanted to create a theme of old and new throughout the record. For example, I do some old standards like ‘Ain’t Misbehavin’’ and ‘You Stepped Out Of A Dream.’ And, I have some songs that I wrote that are obviously new. Nobody has recorded them. I’ve been told at least that they have a sound that’s reminiscent of another era, an older era. There are constant parallels that we wanted to create.

Even with ‘Spinning Wheel.’ That’s a Blood, Sweat and Tears song, but I wanted to use that song to pay tribute to one of my favorite jazz piano players, Erroll Garner. The same with ‘Fool On The Hill,’ the Beatles song. We combined it with Nat King Cole’s ‘Nature Boy.’”

JazzReview.com: The CD opens with an original song, “I Changed The Rules.” Tell us about that song.

Peter Cincotti: “That’s a song that I wrote when I was about 15. Like the other originals on the record, it’s my music and my mother’s lyrics. It was one of three songs on the CD that we wrote together. The other two are ‘Are You The One?’ and ‘Lovers, Secrets, Lies.’”

JazzReview.com: Do you have a regular process for writing?

Peter Cincotti: “It’s been changing. Up until the last few months, I wrote the music and put it on tape and my mother wrote the lyrics. Now, I’ve been writing my own lyrics. That’s something I never thought I would do. That’s a little different process. Do the lyrics come first or the music? Maybe on the next record I’ll have some of those. My mother jokes with me. She says ‘So, I’m off the list,’ because I’m writing my own lyrics now.”

JazzReview.com: Let’s talk about some of the other songs on the CD. Tell us about “Miss Brown.”

Peter Cincotti: “That’s a song that I first heard on a Carmen McRae record. It’s a tribute to Billie Holiday. The record was ‘Lover Man.’ I put it on, heard it and fell in love with it. It’s a very infectious melody.”

JazzReview.com: How about “Ain’t Misbehavin?”

Peter Cincotti: “That was one of the first songs that got me into jazz. Fats Waller was one of my first influences as a piano player and as singer and a songwriter. I wanted to put that on there and pay homage to him.”

JazzReview.com: And, there’s a little bit of a surprise on the CD. You sing “Rainbow Connection.”

Peter Cincotti: “That’s probably the newest song on the record besides the ones I wrote. That was a song that I listened to while growing up. I remember first hearing it when I must have been about 5 years old. It was from the Muppets. It’s a song that I have rediscovered throughout my life so far. Even as my musical tastes have changed from when I first started playing piano, I’ve always liked that song. I never got tired of it. It always brought new meaning to me each time that I rediscover it.”

JazzReview.com: What’s your favorite song on the CD?

Peter Cincotti: “I like ‘Sway.’ That song is different from the others because I didn’t known anybody’s recording of it before I went into the studio. I was in a music store, and my sister brought the sheet music over to me and said, ‘You should do this song.’ I didn’t know what it was. Dean Martin recorded it and Rosemary Clooney. But, I didn’t want to listen to other recordings of it. That’s the one song I treated as a new song. I wanted to keep it as fresh as I could.”

JazzReview.com: In the liner notes, you thank and mention several members of your family. Tell us about them.

Peter Cincotti: “I have a very big family, very close. It’s definitely the first and foremost most important thing in my life. All of them play an important role in who I am and who I will become. That’s how I was raised. Family is always the most important thing.”

JazzReview.com: Is the family musical?

Peter Cincotti: “My mother is musical. She wrote the lyrics, and she has a great voice. Her father sang. On my father’s side, my cousin is extremely musical and talented. My father was tone deaf.”

JazzReview.com: Where did your love for music come from?

Peter Cincotti: “My mother, I have to say, nurtured my interest for it. When I was 3, my grandmother bought me a toy piano. She taught me how to play ‘Happy Birthday’ on it. I was always very interested in it. I started to play by ear, and I was always practicing on that 10-key toy piano. My mother noticed my interest, and allowed me to take lessons at 4 years old and bought me a piano.

One of the things I remember and I think one of the most important things is from my first lesson. My mother told the teacher, ‘don’t let him play anything he doesn’t want to. I want it to be fun.’ She was primarily a classical teacher. I don’t know what exercises she practiced with her other students, but with me I did what I wanted. I brought in movie themes, whatever. It was always fun. I never got tired of it. I never looked at it like ‘Aw, I’ve got to practice.’ More importantly, my mother, nor anyone else for that matter, never pushed me to practice. I always came home with my backpack still on and ran to the piano and wanted to practice. I’m thankful for that.”

JazzReview.com: How did your musical tastes and your sound develop? Like you said, even your original songs are reminiscent of another era. Where did the love for older music come from?

Peter Cincotti: ”That was the music that I was always exposed to from an early age. My whole family listened to older music – Ella Fitzgerald or Nat King Cole. In the car, we would listen to that.

My first love musically when I was playing piano was boogie-woogie piano playing like Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard. I loved that. Then I kind of grew out of that and got more into Nat King Cole and Duke Ellington. Then as I got even older, around 11 or 12, I started getting into more instrumental jazz musicians like Bill Evans, Erroll Garner, Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett, Oscar Peterson. That opened up a whole new world.”

JazzReview.com: In the liner notes, you also thank Harry Connick, Jr. Tell us about him.

Peter Cincotti: “I met him when I was 7. He’s always been a supporter. He’s an extremely generous person. He’s always been supportive of what I do.”

JazzReview.com: Are you in school full-time?

Peter Cincotti: “I am. I’m meeting with the deans right now because I have a lot of traveling come up, and we’re working out the best way to handle that because I’m going to miss some school.”

JazzReview.com: How do you balance school and your music career?

Peter Cincotti: “It’s been very difficult. One week I have to concentrate on music and the next week on school. The schedule is always changing. There’s a lot of juggling.”

JazzReview.com: Are you thinking of taking some time off school right now?

Peter Cincotti: “I think I have to with all the traveling, but getting an education is important to me.”

JazzReview.com: What’s a typical day for you? Do you have a typical day?

Peter Cincotti: “I don’t know if I do. I’ve been running around so much. Now, I’m performing at the Algonquin Hotel at the Oak Room in New York so I have a show every night for a month. My days are different now than I guess they will be when traveling and doing one-nighters.”

JazzReview.com: What do you like to do when you’re not working?

Peter Cincotti: “Listen to records. I’m always checking things out, buying new CDs, transcribing solos, practicing. All this exterior or extra stuff that comes along with any kind of success, and I’m not even talking about myself but anybody, just interviews like this one or photo sessions or whatever, they’re all great, but no matter how much of that there is I want to stay focused on the music. I want to have my couple of hours the day, or if I have more time, to practice. I don’t want to stop developing as a musician.”

JazzReview.com: What’s in your CD player now?

Peter Cincotti: “Right now, Herbie Hancock, ‘Takin’ Off.’”

JazzReview.com: This is just a fun, hypothetical question. If JazzReview were throwing a fantasy dinner party for you, who would you invite?

Peter Cincotti: “Oh my gosh … Am I performing here? If I’m performing, I don’t know if I would invite my big musical influences because I would be scared to perform.”

JazzReview.com: No, let’s say just a dinner party.

Peter Cincotti: “OK. Nat King Cole. Fats Waller. Art Tatum. Oscar Peterson. Shirley Horn. Ella Fitzgerald, definitely. Frank Sinatra. Well, the entire Rat Pack for that matter. It wouldn’t hurt, right? So many. Could you imagine that party? Marilyn Monroe … A lot of the women … Rita Hayworth… I could go on forever.”

JazzReview.com: What’s next for you? Are you on tour soon?

Peter Cincotti: “I’m going to be in Florida for a week. And then I’m getting pretty busy. I’ll have a lot of tour dates coming up.”

JazzReview.com: At the beginning of the interview, you mentioned that a CD that you record at 25 may sound different than the one you just completed. Where do you think your musical evolution will take you?

Peter Cincotti: “I don’t know if I can predict where it will take me. All I can say is that I’m open to all musical opportunities that come my way. I want to perform in many different contexts. Right now, I’m performing with my trio. A lot of my favorite records and influences came from that musical context – the Bill Evans Trio, the Nat King Cole Trio, Shirley Horn, Oscar Peterson. That’s where I am right now as far as what musical context I’m playing in, but I would love to have an orchestra or continue writing music for myself or other singers. Maybe do an instrumental album. I don’t know. Anything. I want to keep my ears open to all of that.”

For more information: concordrecords.com

• •

Taken on: March 16, 2010

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