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

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...

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

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

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 A ...

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, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada during the weekend ending 29 March 2009. Loverboy ...

for ''A Bend in the River''.

Early life and education

Occhipinti was born and raised in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. He studied music at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

, where he was mentored by

Joel Quarrington Joel Andrew Quarrington (born January 15, 1955) is a Canadians, 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 ...

and Dave Young.

Career

Occhipinti is a frequent collaborator with his younger brother Michael Occhipinti, in the Neufeld-Occhipinti Jazz Orchestra 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 #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

, he has also frequently performed as a member of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, 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 at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performin ...

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

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', 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