At age 23, pianist and vocalist Peter Cincotti is about to release his third album. Peter made quite the impression on the music world in 2003, when his self-titled debut album topped the Billboard Traditional Jazz charts, followed by On The Moon, released by Concord Records in 2004, in addition to 2005's DVD, Live in New York. He has appeared in "Spiderman 2" and made his acting debut in Kevin Spacey's biopic about Bobby Darin, "Beyond the Sea." Mary Destri of Music in Schools Today sat down with Peter to discuss his views on music, education and life.

Music in Schools Today (MuST):
How old were you when you first started playing music, and how old were you when you knew you wanted to do it professionally?

Peter:
I started playing at three years old. My grandmother had bought me one of those toy pianos for my third birthday, and taught me how to play "Happy Birthday" on it. I was always kind of addicted to it since then. I started taking lessons at four, and then I got a real piano in the house when I was about five, and it kind of escalated since then. But as far back as I can remember, there was never any question, ever, of what I wanted to do. I always knew I wanted to be a musician.

MuST:
I know that Harry Connick, Jr. was one of your mentors. How did the two of you meet?

Peter:
I met him when I was about seven. I sent him a tape of my playing. Actually, my family went to go see him at the Village Vanguard, and I couldn't make it because I was sick. But I sent him a tape of my playing, and he got it. He's called me up onstage a number of times, and he's been very supportive and generous throughout the years. I feel fortunate to say that about a number of people in my life, Harry being one of them.

Even the bass player on my record, David Finck, he's played with just about everybody. He's kind of become a friend, I met him years ago. He's kind of been a mentor to me, he's taught me a lot. He'd come over to the house and teach me how to play with a bass, and I had only been playing solo piano. So there's a number of people that I feel fortunate enough to be surrounded by.

MuST:
Who have been your greatest inspirations?

Peter:
Oh, I have so many influences. It started when I was five years old, I loved a lot of boogie-woogie piano playing, like Jerry Lee Lewis. I used to love that kind of thing. And as I got older, I was looking for something else, and I discovered Nat King Cole, Duke Ellington, and Count Basie. And that was a stepping stone to a lot of music that I discovered around 11 or 12, which was a lot of instrumental jazz, piano players like Oscar Peterson, Errol Garner, Herbie Hancock, horn players like Sonny Rollins, Clifford Brown. There's just so many, a whole world of jazz that I suddenly got into, and am now completely immersed in.

MuST:
You are the youngest person ever to headline New York's Algonquin Room. What was that experience like?

Peter:
Yeah, I was 18, and I was playing a few clubs in the city, and the Algonquin was one of the ones that was interested. The Algonquin was a very prestigious place for me to play, and I was a little overwhelmed by it, but I was very excited. It was one of the places I went to in the city to check out, and I remember seeing Diana Krall when she was there, and a number of people, so it was very thrilling.

MuST:
What has been your most interesting gig so far?

Peter:
Phil Ramone, who produced my record, did a production of the Songwriters Hall of Fame. It was televised on Bravo. And he wanted to include me in that show, and the lineup was incredible. I was the unknown, and to be on the same stage as these people -- I mean, everybody in the music business was there: Stevie Wonder, Garth Brooks, Liza Minelli, Barry Manilow, Sting, everybody! Michael Jackson was supposed to be there, but he didn't make it. So I'm on there, and I remember playing and seeing Barry Manilow bobbing his head in the audience. It was a very surreal kind of experience. And I got a chance to meet a lot of people, so that was one of the ones that stands out.

MuST:
What is the process like when you sit down to write a song?

Peter:
On the record, I have three songs that I wrote the music to, and my mother wrote the lyrics. I've been writing music since I was nine, and then one day I asked my mother if she would like to write the lyrics to it, and she did. So we've been writing music together ever since. Then, after that, I started writing my own lyrics, so I have some songs now that I have written the music and lyrics to.

MuST:
Do the lyrics or the music typically come first, and how do they fit together?

Peter:
When I write with my mother, I always write the music first, then she writes the lyrics. When I write everything myself, it changes. Sometimes I write the music first, sometimes I write the lyrics.

MuST:
How do you juggle your schoolwork with your music career?

Peter:
It's been kind of difficult -- one week I'll have to just focus on the music and neglect some schoolwork, and the next week I'll have to focus on schoolwork and not give as much time to my music. So it's just a constant balance and juggling. Now I'm just in the process of working out with the dean the best way to proceed in the future, because I'm on tour now, and I'm missing classes. Getting an education is important to me, and I'm just trying to balance both. If I should take longer to finish, it will just take longer.

MuST:
Given your hectic music career, it's admirable that you're so committed to your education. Why do you feel it's important to stay in school?

Peter:
I think it's an extremely important part of life in general. I could have gone to a music conservatory, but I wanted to go to a liberal arts college, just to learn about as much as I possibly can. Is it related to music? I think everything is related to music. No matter what you do in life, I think getting an education is probably the most important thing, to know what came before you. The same with music, in order for me to create something, I like to have knowledge of what came before me. Not that you have to use that to create your own, but the fact that you are just aware of it, and then understand what it is, similar to anything. And with jazz music, I wanted to learn and expand my mind as much as I can about other things, but with this philosophy, math, science, I feel that the more knowledge you have, the more vocabulary you have to create something, no matter what it is. If you're affected by something, it will affect you as a person.

MuST:
What advice do you have for aspiring young musicians?

Peter:
Just keep practicing! That's what I'm doing, and that's what all the people that I idolize and admire are doing. It's a never-ending process.

MuST:
Do you have any tips for someone who needs motivation to sit down and practice or rehearse?

Peter:
Just do what you love. You know, if you don't like playing music, then don't. And that's as simple as that. And that's with anything -- don't do anything you don't like, no matter what field you go into. It's not that I have fun playing the piano, it's that I need to do it. It's more of a necessity than a recreational kind of thing. It's that I need to do it. I have to play. If I see a piano, it's very hard for me not to touch it. And you feel that with anything, you know, if you have to act, then act. Your decision, in a way, should be made for you.

And some people may not know what they want to do, in which case they should just learn about as many things as they possibly can, until they find something that they feel strongly about.