Easy on the Ears: Singer Peter Cincotti, Zegna model and musician

Move over Norah Jones and Michael Buble, the world of polite jazz has a fresh face. P.Ramakrishnan meets the talented Mr Cincotti. Photo by Dickson Lee. Other images courtesy of Zegna and Peter Cincotti.




AS HIS FINGERS slide over the keys, Peter Cincotti furrows his brow in deep concentration, eyes firmly shut, biting his bottom lip. It's a musical duel and duet between the pianist and his drummer as they improvise on an original composition.


Off stage, Cincotti's an affable chap with an easy smile, and why wouldn't he be? Ermenegildo Zegna is keeping him in stitches. The Italian garment giant chose him to be one of its poster boys, and as far as Cincotti's concerned they've hit all the right notes with him.

"I wouldn't have had this opportunity to showcase my music to this variety of audience had it not been for Zegna," he says, in Zegna's store in Tsim Sha Tsui. "It's like I've been taken into this warm family and because of them, I've had the opportunity to play in Shanghai, in Hong Kong and Singapore [the next stop]. This is my first trip to China, my first time in Hong Kong, and I'm overwhelmed by the reaction of the audience."

It isn't just the invitation-only VIPs cramming the performances around Asia and Europe who have gladly picked up his albums. Most critics who've heard his second album, On the Moon - peppered with tunes and lyrics he wrote - have alluded to the wunderkind's prodigious talent.

He's 22-years old, has been performing since he was 12, opened for Ray Charles ("my hero and one of my all-time favourite performers"), studied with jazz masters David Finck and James Williams, starred on stage in the off-Broadway hit Our Sinatra and performed at the White House for President George W Bush. At 20, he was the youngest solo artist to reach the top spot on Billboard's traditional jazz chart. Last year, he appeared alongside Kevin Spacey in the Bobby Darin story Beyond the Sea.

Cincotti's roster of achievements would be music to the ears of any parent who shuttles their children into after-school piano lessons. "I was never pushed into playing the piano," he says. "I was three years old when I stared and it was an innate interest. I'm so glad my parents allowed me this creative freedom. if I practise everyday wherever I am, it's because I want to, not because I'm forced to."



In 2003, he released his self-titled debut, which led to an invitation to perform on Britain's Michael Parkinson Show. "Someone from Zegna was int eh audience and liked it and I was asked whether I'd like to represent their line of clothing for the next year. I said I'd be happy to. I love their clothes, and their visibility in New York is high, so it was a pleasure to do that. As far as I'm concerned, there are only pros, no cons, to this deal. I mean, I'm no model and I'm not out there to walk down the catwalk with the professionals, but the company has always chosen an atypical person to front their clothes. Adrien Brody was chosen right before he won the Oscar. Alberto Gilardino went on to win medals at the Olympics and do brilliantly at the European football championships. I'm here because of my music and I'm in great company."

Is a Grammy the next inevitable step? Already reviewers have him bracketed with Norah Jones and Michael Buble on the jazz-tinged side of popular music. Unlike the disposable pap that dominates the charts and the warbling of American Idol contestants, Cincotti can actually play an instrument and hist a note without synthetic modulation. He also composes and writes lyrics. He strikes a chord "with two hands and a voice steeped in emotion", as one reviewer put it.


"I know I don't sound like Norah Jones or Michael [Buble]. They're great artists in their own right. I don't worry about comparisons, nor do I get carried away with it. I'm just out there playing my music."

Cincotti had no idea what to expect from his first visit to Asia. "There's nothing like the dynamic of a live performance. I don't see myself as a jazz musician only. I like all kinds of music and am influenced by everything. I didn't get to see a lot of China and I'm so glad I get a day off in Hong Kong to get a feel for the city. All this can only influence my music."

The acting gig was a happy coincidence and took him into uncharted territory. The Spacey-directed biopic was panned, but the soundtrack garnered favourable reviews. Cincotti played Dick Behrke, a role similar to the one had in Spider-Man 2 as "Uncredited Piano Player in Planetarium".

"Working on the films gave me time to work on my latest album. Touring is different, you're always busy: working on the concerts, travelling to different locations. So, there's no time to do anything but perform. While working on Beyond the Sea, I was in one location for three months and, in between shots, I had a lot of free time, which is how I got to write some of the tracks from On the Moon. It was a great learning experience, too."

Where to next? "It's all about the music," he says. "It's not about recreating one genre again and again. My first record was classified in the jazz category, but it was primarily a trio record. I wanted to do jazz standards as well as songs by Blood, Sweat & Tears, which was next to Rainbow Connection and the theme from The Godfather and then I combined Nat King Cole with The Beatles. I'm interested in creating hybrids of music. The last thing I wan to do is sing a song the same way it's been done by hundreds of people. The artists I admire most are the ones that have constantly evolved. You take their first album and their last and it's completely different, and it's still great."



On the Moon is out now.