Peter Cincotti - Studio Albums Collection 2003-2012 (4CD)

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Peter Cincotti - Studio Albums Collection 2003-2012 (4CD)

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Singer/songwriter Peter Cincotti is jazz-influenced pianist and vocalist with a bent toward adult-alternative pop and '70s-influenced rock. Born in the Park Avenue apartment of his parents, Cincotti displayed a talent for music after being given a toy piano by his grandmother at age three, and when he was four he began taking piano lessons. At seven, he attracted the attention of Harry Connick, Jr., who had him sit in at a show at Bally's Grand in Atlantic City, NJ. He studied classical piano at the Manhattan School of Music and studied jazz piano privately with Ellis Marsalis, among other teachers. At 12, he turned professional and began playing in clubs in New York. He began singing to his own accompaniment in 1999. That summer, he toured with Connick. In 2000, he appeared at the Montreux Jazz Festival, winning a prize in a piano competition. In 2001, he performed in the off-Broadway production of Our Sinatra. That year, he graduated from the Horace Mann School and, in the fall, enrolled as a freshman at Columbia University. In February 2002, at 18, he became the youngest performer to headline at the prestigious Oak Room of the Algonquin Hotel in New York. He was signed to Concord Records, and his self-titled debut album, produced by Phil Ramone, was released in March 2003. His sophomore effort, On the Moon debuted at number two on Billboard's Jazz Chart in late 2004 and featured a mix of jazz standards next to Cincotti's original songs which had begun to lean toward adult-alternative pop. The album earned Cincotti his first gold record in France and was supported by a successful worldwide tour. Cincotti released the single Goodbye Philadelphia in 2007 which revealed his continuing evolution into a rock-oriented songwriter and performer. In 2009, Cincotti released East of Angel Town which, although still showcasing Cincotti's knack for jazz inflected pop, was more of a pop/rock singer-songwriter album and featured production from legendary producer David Foster. In 2012, Cincotti returned with the adult-alternative and dance-rock oriented full-length, Metropolis.

Biography by William Ruhlmann, Allmusic.com

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Peter Cincotti - Studio Albums Collection 2003-2012 (4CD)

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Peter Cincotti - Studio Albums Collection 2003-2012 (4CD)

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Inevitably, on his debut album, Peter Cincotti is still in the phenomenon stage of his career. The wonder is that a 19-year-old can play jazz piano and sing at such a professional level, and the issue of how distinctively he does it is one largely to be tabled for the present. Even so, the charm of his work lies in its stylistic openness, which might not be expected of a jazz performer who is older. Cincotti makes no distinction between the kind of pop songs adopted for jazz interpretation in the past and more contemporary pop songs that have not been much used for such treatment. In his liner notes, he says he's always wondered what Blood, Sweat & Tears' hit "Spinning Wheel" would sound like as an instrumental played by Erroll Garner, and so he tries to do it that way, and the answer is it doesn't sound bad at all. Mixing the Beatles' "Fool on the Hill" with Nat King Cole's "Nature Boy" may not have been his idea, but it is typical of the eclectic approach he takes to music, and it works. And then there's the closing track, "Rainbow Connection," a Muppets theme that winks good-naturedly at Cincotti's youth. His originals are not particularly impressive, and the acknowledged influence of his mentor, Harry Connick, Jr., is obvious, especially vocally, but Cincotti, supported by a good rhythm section (David Finck, bass, and Kenny Washington, drums) and the tenor saxophone of Scott Kreitzer on three tracks, is a promising pianist with a good feel for ensemble playing, and that may assure him a career even after the crowds attracted by his prodigy status and publicity machine subside.

Review by William Ruhlmann, Allmusic.com

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Peter Cincotti - Studio Albums Collection 2003-2012 (4CD)

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Vocalist/pianist Peter Cincotti burst onto the jazz scene in 2003 as an 18-year-old wunderkind much in the same way that Harry Connick, Jr. positioned himself as an updated crooner with a debut album of enjoyable if predictable standards from various decades. Interestingly, Cincotti's follow-up, On the Moon, finds him exploring funk and soft rock balladry. Similar to his British contemporary Jamie Cullum, Cincotti seems intent here on mixing a radio-friendly melodic pop aesthetic with his jazz chops. In fact, the title track sounds a lot like Cullum's single "All at Sea," which is not to say that Cincotti is ripping anybody off. On the contrary, while there are touches of David Gates, Barry Manilow, and even Coldplay, it is hard to pinpoint any concrete influences for Cincotti's singer/songwriter style. While original songs are the focus this time around, there is also a bevy of inspired standard tunes. To these ends, he opens the album with a funky, hip-hop-influenced take on "St. Louis Blues," gives "Bali Ha'i" a bluesy Sting-influenced vibe, and turns "Up on the Roof" into a cinematic ballad. Adding to the lush atmosphere are full string arrangements and guest spots by such sought-after New York artists as keyboardist Sam Yahel, trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, and drummer Kenny Washington.

Review by Matt Collar, Allmusic.com

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Peter Cincotti - Studio Albums Collection 2003-2012 (4CD)

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Peter Cincotti's 2009 release East of Angel Town is the vocalist/pianist's first album since his 2004 sophomore effort, On the Moon. That album found the onetime neo-crooner moving from jazz standards to more contemporary pop-oriented original material. East of Angel Town finds Cincotti having fully made the crossover move, and fittingly the album features production by crossover Svengali David Foster as well as Humberto Gatica and Jochem van der Saag. Foster has helmed similar efforts from such genre-bending artists as vocalists Josh Groban and Michael Bublé. That said, neither of those artists has ever gone quite as far toward the pop/rock vein as Cincotti does here. Still displaying a knack for jazz and blues-inflected melodies, Cincotti nevertheless dives headlong into the rock world. Tracks such as the sharp-tongued and urbane leadoff title track, with its hard-edged guitar backgrounds and lyrics detailing the superficial lives of N.Y.C. scenesters, bring to mind the theatrical '70s singer/songwriter pop of both Rupert Holmes and Steely Dan. In fact, Steely Dan seem to be the biggest touchstone for Cincotti here. Which isn't to say he rips off them off – on the contrary, as the production on Angel Town is so thoroughly modern, you'd never mistake it for classic Steely Dan. Nonetheless, Cincotti's mix of jazz, blues, and crisply drawn singer/songwriter lyrics clearly draws much inspiration from Steely Dan and other eclectic artists of the '70s and '80s, including Elton John and Billy Joel. Keeping in that tradition, it's not just the rockers, but primarily Cincotti's ballads that really stick in your ears, with both "Lay Your Body Down (Goodbye Philadelphia)" and "Cinderella Beautiful" delivering a warm, melancholy afterglow vibe. Similarly, "Man on a Mission" is a perfect soft rock ballad. Taken as a whole, East of Angel Town is a somewhat sprawling and stylistically varied pop album that finds Cincotti meandering all over the creative map. However, in the world of crossover singer/songwriter pop that's actually kind of the goal, and in that sense Cincotti is right on course.

Review by Matt Collar, Allmusic.com

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Peter Cincotti - Studio Albums Collection 2003-2012 (4CD)

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Onetime jazz piano wunderkind Peter Cincotti's 2012 effort Metropolis is his fifth studio album and second fully non-jazz release. In that sense, Metropolis picks up nicely where his equally pop/rock-oriented 2007 album East of Angel Town left off. Falling somewhere between the yearning alt-rock vibe of Coldplay and the soulful dance-rock of Maroon 5, this is melodic adult alternative pop with a focus on Cincotti's bright and passionate vocal style. Built around a loose conceptual theme of life and love in the city, Metropolis features such cuts as the cinematic, swooning title track opener, the Rupert Holmes-esque "Do or Die" with its story of elevator office romance, and the sensual and poignant anthem to lost love "Madeline." Elsewhere, Cincotti delves into the driving club-ready dance track "My Religion," the uplifting ballad "Take a Good Look," and the midtempo foot-tapper "Fit You Better." Slick and well-produced with a mix of electric guitars, synths, and beats, as well as plenty of organic-sounding instruments including Cincotti's own piano, Metropolis is a towering pop success.

Review by Matt Collar, Allmusic.com