Peter Cincotti

[MartyJazz]

Doubling with another couple who are visiting from NY to see this guy tonight. Don't know much about him other than that he's a young (21) singer in the Sinatra mold who also plays piano, much like a Harry Connick Jr. I guess. Heard him tackling "Cherokee" on piano over the speakers at a local Border's recently and said to myself once I found out who it was, "well, he has roots for such a young guy". Normally I prefer much harder fare but this should be very appealing both to the wife and the easy listening couple we're going with. Anybody have any thoughts one way or the other on this performer?

[sheldonm]

Doubling with another couple who are visiting from NY to see this guy tonight. Don't know much about him other than that he's a young (21) singer in the Sinatra mold who also plays piano, much like a Harry Connick Jr. I guess. Heard him tackling "Cherokee" on piano over the speakers at a local Border's recently and said to myself once I found out who it was, "well, he has roots for such a young guy". Normally I prefer much harder fare but this should be very appealing both to the wife and the easy listening couple we're going with. Anybody have any thoughts one way or the other on this performer?

...not my cup of tea but always good to keep the wife happy! Let us know how it was!

Mark

[JSngry]

Not really familiar with his pianism, but his singing that I've heard so far has really irked me. As Connick is to Sinatra, this guy seems to be to Connick.

But then again, as "entertainment", such considerations don't always apply, at least in the moment of being entertained. The guy definitely seems to have a lot of poise, so I'm sure it'll be a "good show", which in the realm of entertainment is the object of the game, after all.

Report back, please!

[Dan Gould]

What's irked me about him is just the whole marketing army that Concord put behind him. Being that young-I mean, you can emulate Sinatra, but is there any chance at all that you can have lived enough to "occupy" the songs the way Sinatra did?

I would be curious to hear about his piano playing though.

[JSngry]

I would be curious to hear about his piano playing though.

I heard a bit of him on a Marain McPartland show (admittedly not always the best showcase for a young player, pretty bare-bones format), and he sounded more or less "competent" if not particularly "deep".

Again, in the realm of "entertainment", this is all it takes (that and being able to project a "pesonality", which is not as easy a feat as it may seem), so take that for what it's worth.

[ghost of miles]

Full confession: I was asked to MC for a Peter Cincotti show here in Bloomington last fall, and have long wanted to post my thoughts on the experience here. I have never particularly warmed to his work, though I can understand the radio appeal of his rather slick rendition of "St. Louis Blues." Basically, Jim Sangrey's observations are right on target--a competent piano player with a hell of a lot of poise. The guy truly seems born to the stage, and entertainer is the word that comes immediately to mind. OTOH, I'm not uttering it here as an insult (nor implying that anybody else is). I was on the side of the stage all night, and I have to admit that I enjoyed the experience, partially because I've rarely seen an audience at a "jazz" (or quasi-jazz) concert have that much fun. Some of this, I'm sure, resulted from the preponderance of young women in the audience who have a thing for Cincotti (and most of his own songwriting, as he jokingly confessed, revolves around a young guy who wants to get laid). The Cincotti performance never came close to emanating an iota of the transcendental feelings I've had seeing Sonny Rollins, Benny Golson, David Young, or any number of other jazz musicians; but I still went home thinking, "There should be a place for an 'entertainment' element in jazz, and aficionados like me shouldn't be so quick to sneer at it." Sure, it's very easy to cross the line to a point where the Cincottis and Connicks are sucking up most or all of the concert dollars, radio play, etc., and more talented artists suffer as a result; but I wish there wasn't such a disconnect between jazz as entertainment and jazz as an art music. And I certainly don't subscribe to the "it all went wrong with bop" school of thought, either. Just seems like it's a music ultimately meant to include, not exclude (even if various strains at times have, for one reason or another, adapted exclusionary tactics).

[MartyJazz]

Thanks a lot for all the input thus far. You all seem to be more or less on the same wavelength as I am. Hoping for a good evening of entertainment but I really don't expect to be copping any of his CDs afterwards. Dan, your point about "occupying" a song the way Sinatra did is well taken. During his golden period, for me that's roughly the length between the start of the Capitols through the early Reprises, i.e., 1953-67, hardly anybody comes close (some will argue Nat Cole, Tony Bennett, Mel Torme, etc., but not me) in terms of interpreting the lyrics to the classic American popular repertoire.

[makpjazz57]

Hi Marty,

Curious - was Cincotti at the Amaturo Theatre in Ft. Lauderdale? My aunt and uncle live in Boyton Beach and they've attended several jazz concerts there - my Mom performed at the Amaturo Theatre with pianist Mike Renzi in April '04.

There'a also a nice jazz concert series in Palm Beach (I think) - JAMS (Jazz Arts Music Society) - at the theatre nicknamed the "Harriet."

Regards,

Marla

[MartyJazz]

OK, I did indeed see this act at the Carefree Theater in West Palm Beach last night. PC has an engaging on stage presence, can certainly sing and does accompany himself quite ably on the piano. In fact, his playing also serves to give his vocal chords a significant break now and then as he does tend to go into extended improvisations from time to time, exhibiting a surprising facility and a willingness to occasionally speed up the tempo. Some of his covers were excellently done, e.g., Cole Porter's "I Love Paris" and on a purely instrumental level he and his band did perform a very credible version of "A Night in Tunisia". BTW, it's not just a trio, the group is augmented by the presence of a tenor saxophonist, Scott Kreitzer, who plays basically in a late Stanley Turrentine style (not my favorite period of ST, but quite functional in this context). As Dan pointed out earlier and as my wife opined shortly after the performance (one long set, no intermission), PC still comes across as somewhat of a child prodigy in that the lyrics of some of the standards he sings would be more convincing if they were coming from someone who had been around somewhat longer. But hey he can't help it if he's only 21, and I say, more power to him. Our guests loved him and all in all, it was an enjoyable evening.

[Soul Stream]

I saw him back up that actor who did his bobby darin schtick on larry king. Peter C. blew me away...he played his ass off, playing stride on one of the pieces.

[Dan Gould]

Thanks for the report, Marty.

[ghost of miles]

I saw him back up that actor who did his bobby darin schtick on larry king. Peter C. blew me away...he played his ass off, playing stride on one of the pieces.

Kevin Spacey? Yeah, Cincotti had a role in Spacey's Darin flick.