Cincotti crosses over into pop

When most kids his age were settling into college life, Peter Cincotti was already a seasoned pro on the New York jazz circuit. He had made a splash at the 2000 Montreux Jazz Festival, had played prestigious rooms in the Big Apple and Atlantic City, N.J., and had shared the stage with his mentor, Harry Connick Jr.

At 19, Cincotti topped Billboard's traditional jazz charts with his 2002 self-titled debut, becoming the youngest artist to do so. Now, three years after his tentative sophomore effort, On the Moon, Cincotti steps out of the tuxedo-and-evening gown realm of jazz standards and snazzy crooning and plunges headfirst into the aggressive world of pop-rock.

East of Angel Town, the native New Yorker's first release for Warner Bros. Records, hit stores this week.

"This album, in a lot of ways, feels like a debut," says Cincotti, who headlines Rams Head Tavern in Annapolis tonight. "It's all original music, which is the fundamental difference this time. I didn't go into it wanting to make a pop record. It kinda happened."

To help him with his maiden crossover effort, Cincotti went to the ideal guy: producer David Foster. Over the past two decades, the 14-time Grammy winner has overseen across-the-board smashes for Cher, Celine Dion, Chaka Khan, Whitney Houston and others. Most recently, he braided style strains on hit albums for Michael Buble and Josh Groban.

"David was the first to get the vision for the songs," says Cincotti, who was at home in New York City last week. "He knew when to push me and when to leave me alone. The process was a healthy one."

But whereas other artists Foster produced kept one foot firmly planted in their respective genres, Cincotti charts new musical territory on East of Angel Town. The laid-back, Connick-influenced vocal phrasing heard on his first two albums has been supplanted by a bolder, theatrical style, which fits the music.

The artist's pop tastes have been clear from the start: Peter Cincotti featured bright interpretations of the Beatles and Blood, Sweat & Tears, while On the Moon revealed glimmering influences of Sting and Barry Manilow. Although Cincotti's penchant for bluesy melodies still underpins his songs, the musical direction is much edgier this time.

"The approach changed with the writing," he says. "I was going for notes that weren't in my range, so I was writing around them. I ended up singing what I wrote and that changed the way I sing."