Roberto Occhipinti (born March 25, 1955) is a Canadian jazz bassist and composer.James Hale
"Roberto Occhipinti"
''

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available fo ...

'', April 9, 2007. He is most noted as a two-time

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

nominee for Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year, receiving nominations at the

Juno Awards of 2006 The Juno Awards of 2006 were held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on the weekend of 31 March to 2 April 2006. These ceremonies honour music industry achievements in Canada during the previous year. The primary ceremonies were hosted by Pamela And ...

for his album ''Yemaya'' and at the

Juno Awards of 2009 The Juno Awards of 2009 honoured music industry achievements in Canada in the latter part of 2007 and in most of 2008. These ceremonies were held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada during the weekend ending 29 March 2009. Loverboy was induc ...

for ''A Bend in the River''.

Early life and education

Occhipinti was born and raised in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. He studied music at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

, where he was mentored by

Joel Quarrington Joel Quarrington (born January 15, 1955) is a Canadian double bass player, soloist and teacher. He is the former Principal Double Bass of the London Symphony Orchestra. Career He was born in Toronto, Ontario, and began playing the double bass at ...

and Dave Young.

Career

Occhipinti is a frequent collaborator with his younger brother Michael Occhipinti, in the

Neufeld-Occhipinti Jazz Orchestra The Neufeld-Occhipinti Jazz Orchestra (NOJO) is a Canadian jazz musical group based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2016, it had sixteen members. The group performs mainly music created and arranged by its members. Their present label is True Nor ...

and Creation Dream. Their cousin David Occhipinti is also a Juno-nominated jazz musician. One of relatively few Canadian musicians who have had notable success in both jazz and

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

, he has also frequently performed as a member of the

Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (WSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Its primary concert venue is the Centennial Concert Hall, and the orchestra also performs throughout the province of Manitoba. The WSO presents an average ...

, the Hamilton Symphony Orchestra and the

Canadian Opera Company The Canadian Opera Company (COC) is an opera company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest opera company in Canada and one of the largest producers of opera in North America. The COC performs in its own opera house, the Four Seasons Cent ...

.Mark Miller, "'I've always wanted just to play jazz'". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', November 30, 2005.

References

External links

Website
1955 births 20th-century Canadian male musicians 21st-century Canadian male musicians Canadian jazz bass guitarists Canadian jazz composers Canadian classical musicians Canadian people of Sicilian descent Musicians from Toronto Living people {{Canada-composer-stub