PETER CINCOTTI DEBUTS HIS NEW ALBUM ‘ON THE MOON’

With Special Guest, THE Legendary Jimmy Scott & The Jazz Expressions

The Rose Theatre is a sumptuous space in the shape of a rotunda, with three levels and a balcony. The balcony is on one end only. I was seated behind the stage on the second level with a wonderful view from above looking down at the piano, players and stage. I wondered how the acoustics would be and later, during the show took the time to walk around the outskirts of the second level, learning that the sound is different from each quarter of the hall. Not necessarily the best acoustics around.

Special guest Little Jimmy Scott and The Jazz Expressions opened the evening with the quartet’s introductory potpourri of a jazz medley, instantly showing off the talents of this group of musicians; drummer, pianist, bass and guitar. Unfortunately, their names were given so quickly and since there were no program notes I can’t give them the credit due. Scott enters the stage to riotous applause and opens with his unique rendition of Blue Skies . A jockey size man born in Ohio (where he still lives) in 1925 and a victim of Kallmann’s Syndrome, a hormonal deficiency which inhibits growth, it also left his voice sounding more like a young woman than man. His career during the 40’s and 50’s was not soaring but gained the respect of the jazz world. Billy Holliday considered him to be the greatest jazz singer of that time. Scott’s rise to fame took a detour when he begin to care for his ailing father and he had to work at numerous odd jobs. In 1990 he began performing again and soon after, while delivering a vocal tribute at the funeral of songwriter Doc Pomus, he was signed up for recordings on the Sire Label and for Warner Bros. Jimmy Scott is now established throughout Europe and Japan and has been a subject of a television special on Bravo Profiles.

Scott’s strange “boy-like” vocal style is full of way "behind the beat” stylization with drawn out phrasing such as in “Embraceable You” caressing each word as a separate thought. Not a mellifluous voice, it is still full of longing “You Don’t Know What Love Is” a story told with the pathos of one who has been through it. “Pennies From Heaven” was sung in a heart-wrenching manner with a ray of hope. His rendition of “Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child” was delivered in a quavering voice with the sound of one who has the weight of the world on his shoulders, ending in a heart wrenching wail.

After a short intermission, Peter Cincotti took the stage. A youthful (21 years old), attractive young man in suit and tie, born and raised in New York City, he approached the piano, half bowing in acknowledgement of the applause and began playing and singing a sensuous bossa nova rhythmic version of Sway a Norman Gimbel/Pablo Ruiz number probably made famous by Dean Martin. This young performer has a terrific conformability, wholesomeness and ingenuousness that are certainly appealing.

His choice of material includes Cole Porter, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Eddy Arnold and Cindy Walker, William Handy, Ray Noble and six numbers he has written, one with lyrics by his mother, Cynthia Cincotti. Obviously, the American Songbook composers have a great appeal to the over 40 group, which appeared to be in large numbers in the Rose Theater this night.

Most of the interpretations had a sameness to them. Cincotti has a facile and dynamic right hand playing melody as the left hand more simply indicates the beat. It would be nicer to hear more intricate and diverse styling. Between some numbers, the young Cincotti talked to the audience about his first new apartment in NYC; then informed that one of his own numbers The Girl For Me Tonight was really “about a guy wanting to get laid” and gave the evening a feeling of being in a cabaret room. Actually, his own material was less jazz like and more like standards.

Peter Cincotti’s reputation as a singer, songwriter, pianist and arranger is not always in evidence. Some of his lyrics seem rather sophomoric lacking introspection or insight, perhaps due to his young age. There were two exceptions. Lonely Rose has a different sensibility. However, odds are that He’s Watching will be picked up as a mainstream number (it’s obviously about God watching over him)!

The quintet of musicians: Scott Kreitzer on Sax; Mark McLean on Drums; Bashiri Johnson on Percussion; Barak Mori on Bass and Jeffrey Mironov on Guitar deserve a mention for their excellence in back up, as well as for their solo moments, all of which gave this performance the color it needed. In their solo moments, Cincotti did an okay job of being their back up.

Harry Connick Jr. presented Peter Cincotti in Atlantic City during one of Connick’s shows when Cincotti was only 7. What an opportunity!

The hype that has attended this unquestionably talented man who played the Algonquin at 19 may be just a bit too much, too soon. His vocal ability needs a lot of work. Yes, he sings on pitch but needs work on modulation and phrasing and interpretation. The press has alluded to his natural talent. I don’t believe in “natural” talent, but more so in ability, perfected by good training.

Peter Cincotti is good when it comes to commanding the stage, performing with his quintet, but I can’t wait for the time when he becomes great. That may be years from now. He needs time to grow and experience more of life than that which was visible in this performance.

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