Peter Cincotti
– Peter Cincotti
2003 Concord Records
SQ Issue: Summer 2004, Volume 14, Issue 3
Peter
Cincotti: piano, vocals; David Finck: bass; Kenny Washington: drums; Scott Kreitzer: tenor saxophone
Here’s a
singer, songwriter and piano man from the Harry Connick, Jr. mold. Connick actually is acknowledged on the CD for the
opportunities he has given Cincotti.
You will find
Cincotti’s piano playing quite exceptional. He
has definitely created a wonderful style of his own through influences from Fats Waller,
Erroll Garner and Nat King Cole. He has
absolutely fantastic phrasing that elevates his musicianship above that of your average
piano player.
His singing is
okay. He has wonderful diction reminiscent of
Cole, which I discovered on his cover of Miss Brown.
It isn’t exclusive to this song but you will definitely hear what I
mean when you play this one.
Cincotti has
great backing by his band, who compliment both his piano and his singing with soft,
relaxed phrases and when they get a chance to solo, are allowed to shine without becoming
the focus, if that’s possible in a solo!
My favorite
songs on this CD are You Stepped Out of a Dream, one of my all time favorites that
I originally heard Nat King Cole sing, Miss Brown, Ain’t Misbehavin’ and an upbeat original called I Changed the
Rules.
I count 7 out
of 12 that are danceable for swing dancers. But
I also enjoyed a Latin tune. Yes, I liked his
Latin version of Sway. Other
non-swingable tunes that I enjoyed very much were Come Live Your Life with Me, a
song from the movie The Godfather, Fool on the Hill/Nature Boy, a Beatles
song morphed into a Nat King Cole song and Lovers, Secrets, Lies, another Cincotti
original.
It seems that
there is a nice change coming in the music industry with singers like Peter Cincotti
coming to the rescue of a declining music scene led by the likes of Britney Spears and
other faces-turned-singers = quick buck types. Hail
to Cincotti, who is about 20 years old, for covering the classics as well as writing new
material with a classic jazz frame of mind.