Like a pilot in a cockpit, when Cincotti sits down at a piano it’s as if the world is at his fingertips. Whether he is soloing over a song that showcases his jazz roots, or playing a catchy hook from one of his popular originals, Peter blend genres while bringing active, rhythmic piano playing back into the landscape of modern music.
Peter learned how to play the instrument at the same age he learned how to walk and talk. It’s as integral to him as the bare essential elements of life. “It wasn’t something that I ever thought about doing, it was just something I did,” he recalls. “And as I got older, I consciously walked the line of learning more, and learning too much. The minute it gets too cerebral, it’s over.”
A born and bred New Yorker, Cincotti spent much of his childhood going to school during the day and playing clubs at night. Legendary music producer Phil Ramone was there one of those nights, a discovery that led Ramone to produce Peter’s debut album which reached #1 on the Billboard jazz charts, making 18-year old Cincotti the youngest artist ever to do so.
Since then, Peter has performed in some of the world’s most prestigious venues from Carnegie Hall to L’Olympia in Paris, collaborated with artists ranging from Andrea Bocelli to David Guetta, has been featured in blockbuster films such as Spiderman 2, represented the global fashion brands Ermenegildo Zegna and Tod’s, and just recently appeared as himself in Season 3 of the hit Netflix series House Of Cards, singing a duet with the president played by Kevin Spacey.
Along the way, his vibrant and socially-aware songwriting caught the ear of 16-time Grammy winner David Foster, who produced Cincotti’s third album East Of Angel Town yielding the song 'Goodbye Philadelphia', which became a smash hit overseas reaching the Top Ten on Pop Radio charts across Europe.
Peter’s experiences have shaped his music through the years, changing the layers of his sound and the dimensions of his style. Because of this, his fans await each new album like they are engrossed readers anxious to reach the next chapter of their favorite book. Cincotti has morphed genres and blended influences in a variety of ways, a pursuit that is showcased on his latest
album Long Way From Home.
Written, arranged, and produced by Cincotti, this collection of songs is the product of “moving my pianos to a house on the Jersey Shore, building a recording studio, and spending the majority of the last several years alone at the control board,” he explains.
“It felt great to work through the night with no NY complaining neighbors and explore every idea in my head. But I’m pretty sure I went partially insane along the way', he jokes. 'At one point, whenever I fell asleep, a new song would introduce itself in whatever dream I was having. So I’d wake up and write it down. Several songs on this album were written that way. It got to a point where I felt like I wasn’t even composing, I was just writing down what was already there.”
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Peter wrote and produced a song for New York called ‘Heart Of The City’, which gained much attention reaching over 1 million impressions on Facebook and Instagram in it's first few weeks. The song and video caught the attention of many notable New York institutions and was featured in Katie Couric’s ‘Get Inspired’ newsletter, Good Day New York, among other media outlets spreading a sense of togetherness and much needed positivity.
‘This song is a dream of better days, a remembrance of things past, and a reminder of who we are and where we are,' Peter explains.
Throughout 2020, Peter continued to work on his highly anticipated upcoming album ’Killer On The Keys’, which will honor some of the most influential piano men and women of all time, featuring songs by artists ranging from Scott Joplin to Lady Gaga. Whether he is blending the stylings of Errol Garner with John Lennon, or Oscar Peterson and Billy Joel, this record features daring arrangements that become a kind of crazy glue between generations of pianists, along with autobiographical originals. 'Killer On The Keys' is due for release Fall 2022.
88 keys, a bench and a mic.
Give those things to Peter Cincotti and he can take you anywhere.