Biography

2022 JUNO Award Winner MICHAEL OCCHIPINTI is a sound sculpting guitarist, composer, arranger, and educator who has spent decades freely moving between jazz, popular song, chamber music, Sicilian, Indian, and Turkish music, rhythm and blues, funk, and experimental music. A 13-time JUNO Award nominee celebrated nationally for his fearlessness in imagining and realizing new projects, Michael leads several acclaimed groups including ES:MO, his 2022 JUNO nominated duo with singer/pianist Elizabeth Shepherd, The Sicilian Jazz Project, In Orbit (featuring Jeff Coffin and Felix Pastorius), Shine On: The Universe of John Lennon, his 5-time JUNO nominated 16-piece group NOJO (Neufeld-Occhipinti Jazz Orchestra), and a new quartet with clarinet virtuoso Don Byron. Michael won the 2022 JUNO for Jazz Group of The Year as a member of the group Avataar.