Though his looks are smart enough for frontman in a mass-marketed boy band, teenaged Peter Cincotti's musical soul seems wise decades beyond his years. The 19-year-old Columbia University sophomore's debut does more than bristle with promise: it delivers both sprightly performances and some unexpectedly sharp songwriting. The album's lean quartet format (bassist David Finck, drummer Kenny Washington, and Scott Kreitzer on tenor sax) is akin to working without a net, but the singer-pianist ambles through this well-chosen slate of songs with confidence to burn. The trio of originals (with lyrics by the musician's mother) range from the smartly swinging "I Changed the Rules" and "Are You the One?" to the weary romance of the ballad "Lovers, Secrets, Lies." But most of the Phil Ramone-produced album's surprises come in its cover choices. Cincotti effortlessly recasts rock-era fare like "Spinning Wheel"(which gets a Monk-influenced instrumental workout) in his own jazzy mold, with his evocative medley of "The Fool on the Hill/Nature Boy" sounding like it's been part of the American jazz repertoire all along. Cincotti's voice occasionally shows its tender years, but his shrewd instincts bridge genres and eras with mature, deceptive effortlessness throughout. --Jerry McCulley