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"Going on legend"
NEW YORK TIMES
Peter Cincotti, singer, pianist, and
composer, is off to a great start.
Peter has played Montreux, the Vegas Hard Rock, the White
House, and was the youngest-ever to headline the venerated Oak Room of the
Algonquin. |
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years of night-clubbing around Manhattan with his jazz trio has earned him a
great deal of praise. Rex Reed declared of Peter’s Algonquin debut: "This
much talent, polish and virtuosity in a teenager may not even be legal. . .
He has passion, verve and talent. He’s also going places, big time."
While veteran producer, Phil Ramone, believes Peter is the freshest "old
soul" to come along in ages, and describes Peter’s piano playing as
evocative of an earlier time, but with punch; "having the kind of intensity
that makes other musicians sit up and listen, much like that of a young
Errol Garner." Peter’s piano work on Dizzy Gillespie’s "Night in Tunisia"
won the Piano Competition at the Montreux Jazz Festival.
And Peter is still in his teens.
Harry Connick Jr. noticed Peter’s talent when Peter was
just 7-years old and invited him to play on stage. In his early teens, Peter
appeared before sold-out crowds in large venues and arenas throughout the
country as a guest performer during Harry Connick’s "Come By Me" tour.
Peter’s talent was nurtured by premier jazz pianist and noted Jazz
instructor, Ellis Marsalis, father of Wynton and Branford, who tutored Peter
in New Orleans.
While still in High School, Peter played piano in
Manhattan’s smoky jazz clubs like the famous Knickerbocker or the hip Joe’s
Pub of Greenwich Village, performing an eclectic mix of standards
and his own material. UPI’s Fred Winship wrote of Cincotti’s
original: "these songs have an undercurrent of cynicism about love that |
is rare in a talent
of Cincotti’s age, and they are as arresting in their lyrics as they are in
musicality. They prove this young baritone and keyboard artist to be a teen
prodigy of a caliber rarely encountered."
While Peter has been inspired and influenced by the great
jazz pianists like Garner, Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson, and Art Tatum and the
vocal and musical prowess of Nat King Cole, Aretha Franklin, Shirley Horn,
and Carmen McRae, Peter has worked hard to create his own unique style. Like
Diana Krall, Peter’s approach to reinventing jazz is part of a youthful
discovery that infuses the standards with both romance and mystery.
Jack
Lewin, the acclaimed Off-Broadway producer, hired Peter for the lead in his
musical, "Our Sinatra," for the reason that "Peter reminds audiences of
singers like Keely Smith and Nat King Cole who brought about a wonderful
marriage of literate lyrics and jazz-filled melodies with natty soul and
youthful energy."
Peter’s debut album will be produced by Phil Ramone and
released on the Concord Records label. . |
"Jazz
Sensation."
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
"He is nothing less than great."
U.P. I.
"Our Favorite."
NEW YORK POST
"He’s terrific."
HARRY CONNICK, JR
"A phenomenon."
REGIS PHILBIN
"Clearly a star in the Making."
HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
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