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June 6 - June 13, 2004 |
Getting his NOJO working
Jazz master Michael Occhipinti is back with his big band.
By Kerry Doole
Originally Published: 2004-05-16
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."
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