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Review: Jack Foley
PETER Cincotti's latest album is called On The Moon
and it's an apt title because he would appear to have the world
at his feet.
An outrageously talented jazz pianist and vocalist, Cincotti
burst onto the music scene in 2003 at the age of 18 and was quickly
hailed as the next Harry Connick Jr.
Two years on, he has already supported Connick Jnr and has accomplished
things in his fledgling career that most musicians can only dream
of.
When Hollywood actor, Kevin Spacey, caught a live performance
at Soho Pizza Express last year, for example, the celebrated star
was so impressed with the high quality of Cincotti's performance
that he asked him to star in his movie biopic on Bobby Darin,
Beyond The Sea.
It is with this in mind that we now consider On The Moon,
his hugely stylish second long-player.
Now I must confess, I'm not the biggest fan of jazz but it doesn't
take a genius to realise that this is something special.
The young New Yorker has a confidence and grace about him that
makes the album easy to listen to and frequently enjoyable.
Kicking off with the high-tempo St Louis Blues, for
example, Cincotti delivers a rousing jazz number in the musical
style of a David Holmes score, infusing his music with a genuinely
funky vibe.
Yet this is quickly offset by the classic jazz style of Some
Kind of Wonderful and I Love Paris, which finds
Cincotti virtually emulating the vocal prowess of his idol, Harry
Connick Jr.
I Love Paris, especially, also provides a mesmerising
workout for his piano skills, which seldom fail to put a smile
on the face when they are allowed to run riot.
One can imagine Cincotti's fingerwork is as dazzling as Fred
Astaire's footwork and you'll no doubt be keeping an eye on those
Soho Pizza Express listings to find out if you're correct.
Occasionally, the album does let itself down, however. Not every
track matches the highs of the opening three tracks.
He's Watching, for example, sent a shiver down my spine
as I thought he might be about to go into a jazz variation of
Lionel Ritchie's Hello.
While the title track, On The Moon, is more pop than
jazz and all the weaker for it.
But the album quickly comes back with the likes of the uptempo
Raise The Roof, which allows Cincotti to do as its name
suggests, and the album closer, Cherokee, which delivers
another heart-stopping workout for Cincotti's undoubted piano-playing
prowess.
On The Moon is therefore an infectious contemporary
take on some classic jazz standards, as well as some of Cincotti's
own material, that really ought not to be missed - either live
or in record form!
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