Michael Occhipinti : Guitarist

Check out a wonderful and very detailed review of the Sicilian Jazz Project here.

The Sicilian Jazz Project has been dazzling audiences since its debut at the 2004 Distillery Jazz Festival in Toronto, and with it’s intriguing mix of Sicilian folk source material and the best elements of modern jazz, it is a group like no other.

Michael Occhipinti’s The Sicilian Jazz Project has been dazzling audiences world-wide with its intriguing mix of Sicilian folk material and the best elements of jazz, world music, funk, blues, and chamber music. Combining a unique repertoire with the inventive skills of its leader and the artistry of the musicians who are the heart of the project, The Sicilian Jazz Project is a group like no other, and the recording has been called “a masterpiece of cultural fusion.” The Sicilian Jazz Project received a 2009 JUNO Award nomination (Canada’s Grammy award) and Michael and his brother Roberto Occhipinti were awarded the prestigious Ragusani nel Mondo Award in Ragusa, Sicily on September 4, 2009.

In 1954 ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax toured Sicily, recording traditional folk music performed by sulphur miners, tuna fishermen, and assorted peasants and folk entertainers. Lomax’s field recordings capture the sounds of Sicily as it was in early 1950’s when Michael’s parents immigrated to Canada, and are the inspiration behind The Sicilian Jazz Project, along with traditional dances and ballads gleaned from Michael and Roberto’s many cousins in Sicily. As the band’s composer/arranger, Michael Occhipinti has reinvented the music in imaginative ways that nevertheless capture the original emotions behind the songs. The result is a passionate instrumental and vocal repertoire that makes reference to many genres and has resonated with listeners and audiences worldwide.

The Sicilian Jazz Project showcases Michael Occhipinti’s versatile acoustic and electric guitar playing alongside some of Canada’s most dynamic musicians, including his brother Roberto Occhipinti on bass (and the recording’s producer), Dominic Mancuso on vocals, Kevin Turcotte on trumpet, Ernie Tollar on flute/saxophones, Louis Simao on accordion, and Barry Romberg on drums, with vocalist Maryem Tollar, violinist Hugh Marsh, percussionist Rick Lazar, Oud player Levon Ichkhanian, and a string quartet all featured on the recording as well. As with his Juno Award nominated CD Creation Dream, which explored the songs of singer Bruce Cockburn from a jazz musician’s point of view, The Sicilian Jazz Project has Michael reshaping the traditional folk music of Sicily, and merging it with the modern and multicultural sounds of his native Toronto.

The talented individuals who make up The Sicilian Jazz Project have experience in jazz, classical, Arabic, Cuban, Brazilian, and popular music. In inventing new ways of experiencing Sicilian folk music, Michael uses the eclecticism of the ensemble and the diversity of Toronto as a great asset. Performing live with great energy and a passion for story telling, The Sicilian Jazz Project has captivated audiences at festivals across Canada, in the U.S., Mexico, and in Sicily, and each concert ends with the crowd clapping and singing along with the band’s infectious music. music. The Sicilian Jazz Project will be touring internationally in 2010.

"There's a range of emotional content that is hard to dismiss or deny, as the players deeply feel this music, bringing it to joyous highs and sub-strata lows, positioned in a hopeful and richly rendered framework… a triumphant recording on many levels, and one that should be given full due diligence for satisfying audio."

Michael G. Nastos - Billboard/All Music Guide

"This is really why we listen to music: to be surprised and lifted up, stripped of our preconceptions and left breathless by hearing something brand new. Big props to Michael Occhipinti and all the players for taking jazz into a new room, one where the floor is moving and the walls keep breathing in and out, leaving listeners somewhere up near the ceiling hoping to never come down."

Bill Bentley – Sonic Boomer

"Given the complexities inherent in both styles of music and the challenges of marrying two vastly different sounds, it is an understatement to say that this is a cross-cultural collaboration few of us would have dreamed of hearing. It could have resulted in a hodgepodge, but it does not. The musical mix is exuberant and engaging, and the playing by some of T.O.'s finest musicians is stellar."

Errol Nazareth – The Toronto Sun

Michael Occhipinti - guitarist and arranger

An eight-time Juno Award nominee for Best Contemporary Jazz Album, guitarist/composer Michael Occhipinti’s modern and eclectic approach to jazz and creative music of all kinds has earned him a broad array of listeners and the respect of critics and musicians alike. As a leader of the acclaimed jazz orchestra NOJO, his own quintet, and The Sicilian Project, Michael has established himself as an inventive composer and arranger, and his recording Creation Dream – The Songs of Bruce Cockburn remains a favourite instrumental jazz recording among critics and fans.
Chasing After Light, Michael’s 2008 JUNO nominated recording, features the same stellar quintet of musicians heard on Creation Dream. This new recording departs from the songs of Bruce Cockburn by showcasing Michael’s original compositions and by showing off a broad palette of guitar sounds, including a particularly impassioned solo that one critic praised as “face melting.” Blending a variety of folk sounds (Cuban music, African blues, and a beautiful Bruce Cockburn inspired acoustic guitar composition) with a modern melodic approach to jazz improvisation, Chasing After Light was recently praised bythe CBC’s Errol Nazereth as one of the best jazz recordings of 2007. Michael Occhipinti is now busy arranging new music for the Sicilian Project, which has just completed its debut recording.

Roberto Occhipinti - bass

Rare is the bassist who steps forward to lead his own ensemble. Rarer still is the bandleader who successfully bridges the worlds of jazz and classical music. Roberto Occhipinti clearly belongs to that rare breed. On his first album, 2001’s Trinacria, Occhipinti explored the range of Latin jazz. His followup album, 2003’s The Cusp, expanded on the concept, adding violin, flutes, reeds and horns while tackling composers as diverse as Wayne Shorter, Jimi Hendrix and Giacomo Puccini. On his most recent release Yemaya, Occhipinti has given full flight to his musical vision, employing horns and a full string symphony orchestra on classical arrangements of Cuban, Brazilian and original jazz pieces.
Born in Toronto of Sicilian ancestry, Occhipinti has long straddled the worlds of jazz and classical music. He has been a member of the Winnipeg Symphony, Hamilton Philharmonic and Canadian Opera Company orchestras. Meanwhile, Occhipinti has toured and recorded with Jane Bunnett, including the Juno Award winning Ritmo and Soul and the Grammy nominated Alma de Santiago. At the same time, he has recorded a number of albums with pianist Hilario Durán, including the Juno Award winning New Danzon, which the bassist also produced. Occhipinti has skillfully married his classical training with his abiding passion for jazz and world music. In doing so, he has set himself apart as an innovator, as well as one of Canada’s most versatile and adventurous musicians.

Dominc Mancuso – vocals

Canadian born vocalist Dominic Mancuso has been exploring his Sicilian roots for many years, and has performed at music festivals throughout Italy, while at the same time building a successful career for himself in his native Toronto as an English language performer and composer. Comfortable singing in the older dialects that make up much of Sicily’s folk music, Dominic has also delved deeply into the work of Italy’s contemporary songwriters, and hi s mastery of this music will be showcased on a new CD he has just finished recording. Dominic Mancuso is also involved in creating innovative multi-media concerts featuring the real-time projected visual work of his painter brother Vincent Mancuso, and the Mancuso brothers’ unique presetation of music and visual art will be featured at the 2007 Nuit Blanche in Toronto.

Barry Romberg – drums

Barry Romberg is a most compelling and singular musical voice in Canadian jazz. His unique drumming has propelled the likes of Gil Evans, Hank Jones, Joe Henderson, Ritchie Bierach, NOJO with Don Byron & Sam Rivers, George Garzone, Joanne Brackeen, Rick Margitza and Mark Turner to mention but a few.
As a leader Barry’s projects have continually striven to push the boundaries of improvised music. Whether it be the ultra modern sounds of the MRC Trio, the rhythmic complexity of Inside Out (with Lorne Lofsky and Kieran Overs), the acoustic beauty of the Geoff Young Trio, the impressionistic Three Sisters, or the eclectic sounds of Random Access, a four volume studio set exposing Romberg’s personal journey into the world of spontaneous composition, his drumming has an energy and personality that is unique. Barry Romberg has been featured on over fifty recordings, including those by Al Henderson, Nancy Walker, Michael Occhipinti and Creation Dream, NOJO, Chris Tarry, and many others.

Louis Simão – Accordion

Louis Simão has been performing and recording as a multi-instrumentalist for over a decade. Performing on bass, piano, accordion, and percussion allows him to move freely through genres. Louis studied jazz piano and acoustic bass at Toronto’s York University, and abroad with bossa nova guitarist Alfredo Machado at Escola de Música Vila Lobos in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He has also been studied in Cuba, Morocco, and Lisbon, Portugal - his parent's home country.
Simão's diverse and highly sought after skills have afforded him the opportunity to perform and record with talented artists such as, Nelly Furtado, Mary Margaret O'Hara, Eliana Cuevas, Michael Occhipinti, The Clayton/Scott Group, and Fritz McIntyre of Simply Red. He also leads, writes and arranges for his own world-music ensemble, Pedras da Rua, which has opened for Cesaria Evora and Celso Machado, and has shared a night with Brazilian reggae stars Chico Cesar and Rita Ribeiro at The Blueprints Arts Festival 2000, the performance of which became the subject of a documentary for Bravo's Centre Stage Chronicles. A remix of Pedras da Rua's "Terra do Bravo" is also featured on Required Listening Vol. #1, voted best Toronto disc of 2003 by NOW Magazine.
Louis Simão's original music ranges from Portuguese folk songs and fado, to samba, bossa nova and other Brazilian genres; from African and Cuban music, to funk and jazz. With som livre (free sound) at the heart of his musical philosophy, Simão's compositions combine these various sounds along with an improvisational sensibility. His most recent CD with saxophonist and composer David French is entitled Faia, and showcases Louis Simao’s talents as a guitarist and as a vocalist singing in Portuguese.

Ernie Tollar - flute and saxophone

Ernie Tollar has created music in many jazz, world, and contemporary settings. His work as a performer, composer, and producer has been heard across Canada and abroad at concerts, clubs, and festivals and on recordings. As an active member of the world music scene in Toronto, Ernie can be heard with such groups as Greek/Arabic ensemble Maza Maze, Table player Ravi Naimpally’s group Tasa, the Maryem Tollar group, Brenna MacCrimmon's Altin yildez Orkestar, The Toronto Tabla Ensemble, The Evergreen Club Gamelan, The Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band and Ron Allen's Ritual Party.
As a jazz and improvising musician, Ernie has appeared with such respected musicians as David Restivo, Rick Lazar, Hugh Marsh, Levon Ichkhanian, and the big band NOJO, with whom Ernie has performed since 1994. With Co-leader John Gzowski, Ernie leads the world jazz group Mecca. Ernie has toured Canada and the U.S. with kora/piano player Daniel Janke’s West African influenced jazz group. He has also worked with such luminaries as Bob Becker and John Wyre of Nexus fame. Ernie has studied South Indian classical drumming and singing with professor Trichy Sankaran and flute with Maestro N. Ramani in S. India.

Kevin Turcotte – trumpet

A perennial winner of Canada’s National Jazz Award and its predecessor the Jazz Report Award, Kevin is a creative and versatile musician who performs in some of this country’s most acclaimed ensembles. His own group The Great Uncles of The Revolution (with Andrew Downing, Jesse Zubot and Steve Dawson) is a JUNO Award winner, and Kevin has also toured with his unique trio featuring Justin Haynes on guitar and Jean Martin on drums. A member of many groups, including Michael Occhipinti’s Creation Dream, NOJO, Time Warp, The Boss Brass, The Michelle Gregoire quintet, The Roberto Occhipinti quintet, The Dave McMurdo Big Band, and The Dave Young quintet, Kevin is one of the most in-demand trumpet players in Canada.