Getting his NOJO working

Jazz master Michael Occhipinti is back with his big band.

With the summer jazz festivals approaching rapidly, few Toronto players will be as busy as guitarist/composer Michael Occhipinti. He has three gigs with two different ensembles at The Distillery Jazz fest, then at least another three gigs at the Downtown Jazz festival in June.
A good time then to catch up with the multi-talented Occhipinti. His chief priority right now is NOJO, the acclaimed and Juno-winning big band he co-founded with pianist Paul Neufeld a decade ago. Their fifth CD, City Of Neighbourhoods, is officially released on May 25, and NOJO plays two shows at the Distillery Festival that week, abetted by a 12-piece string section.
"I'm also playing there with The Sicilian Music Project," Michael explains. "In that I'm taking some Sicilian music and trying to explore it, as I did with the Bruce Cockburn material on Creation Dream. That partly came from visiting Sicily with my family last year, after NOJO played in Holland. It was nice to be around the language again and see my relatives."
He is now rightfully excited about the excellent new NOJO disc. "This record has re-energized us somewhat. Not that we had a lack of energy, but it has made us want to focus really hard." Michael credits some of that to the inspiring example of legendary American avant-garde saxophonist Sam Rivers, a featured guest on City Of Neighbourhoods. He has played with everyone from Billie Holiday to Miles Davis, and was a crucial figure on the New York City loft jazz scene.
"Sam just never stops. He writes music and practices every day. I hope when I'm 80 I have half the energy he does! I think he added more of a freewheeling quality to the band. There are no ballads on the album. It's a pretty uptempo in your face record, and it also reflects the fun we were having."
The album was recorded last year in Halifax, during a NOJO tour featuring Rivers. It features a 10-piece band, in contrast to the 18-piece lineup that recorded the previous album, 2002's Highwire. This trimmed down incarnation was spawned by a 2002 tour of smaller Canadian venues. "To make that happen, we had to be able to fit into two cars, so we became a nine piece band," laughs Michael. "It was a little funkier and seemed to sound right with what we were writing."
Occhipinti and Neufeld are the composers in NOJO (The Neufeld-Occhipinti Jazz Orchestra). They write separately, but definitely influence each other. "Paul and I respond to what we each write and learn from it. The joy of NOJO is knowing that it is wide open. No one ever says, 'that is not jazz'. Jazz is a funny music. People divide themselves into camps, especially here in Toronto, where you're either hard bop or avant-garde. That is a trap. Charlie Parker wouldn't want you trying to sound like him in 2004!"
A key strength of NOJO is their skilled eclecticism. They're not afraid to use funk, rock, pop, blues and even country (as on the new "The Human Blockhead") elements in their sound, and this makes their style both accessible and fun.
Occhipinti's own diverse tastes are shown in another side project, the funky Rivethead, and in his solo work. His inventive instrumental renditions of Bruce Cockburn songs on Creation Dream a couple of years ago received a great reaction, here and in the U.S.
In Michael Occhipinti, Toronto has a great musical ambassador. His love of the city is reflected in the title track of City Of Neighbourhoods. "It is not about SARS, but it was written during that time, with my thinking about the city. Toronto influences me as a writer, it affects the way I write the music."
City Of Neighbourhoods is released on True North on May 25. NOJO performs at The Distillery Jazz Festival on May 23 and 26 and at Downtown Jazz on June 25. Michael Occhipinti's Sicilian Music Project is at Distillery Jazz on May 27.

Publication Date: 2004-05-16
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=3970