Elizabeth Shepherd and Michael Occhipinti perform at the fabulous Yardbird Suite in Edmonton, one of the best venues in Canada! With Tony Ferraro on drums.
Speaking of ES:MO, Elizabeth Shepherd and I are in the process of finishing our new album, which will come out in the fall. But look for a new video in late May, and we'll be doing shows in Edmonton and Saskatoon May 10 and 11!
NOJO, the Neufeld-Occhipinti Jazz Orchestra, celebrated its 30th Annversary at Hugh's Room on March 15th. It was a wonderful reunion, with so many original and long time members there and a full house. I'll be posting video of the concert on the NOJO page soon!
Keep your eye on Hugh's Room, where I do some of the programming. There's lots of great music that I'm not involved in, but usually once a month you'll find me directing a unique night such as the upcoming Women Sing Elton, Men Sing Beyonce (April 27th). These shows have me bring together a variety of vocalists with a house band I direct, and while we pay tribute to those artists, each singer interprets the music however they want to. The results are always a blast!
I had an absolute blast playing with Don Byron, Rich Brown, and Jinu Isac at the Rex in February. It was such an adventure that I've created a page just to share some of the video audience members sent me HERE.
The Kitchener-Waterloo Guitar Orchestra premiered Michael Occhipinti's commissioned composition “ERASER” on December 9th. Check out the video below!
ES:MO will be finishing its 2nd album in January, and we're building summer tour dates now. Look for new gigs to be posted soon and a release date, but we'll be in western Canada in May. Want us to come to you? We love festivals and clubs, but house concerts are also among our favourite things to do, so get in touch with us!
Welcome to the home of Michael Occhipinti, guitarist, composer, and versatile collaborator. Michael won a JUNO Award (Canada's Grammy) in 2022 with Avataar, for Jazz Group of the Year, and was nominated for Jazz Vocal Album of the Year with Elizabeth Shepherd for ES:MO's The Weight of Hope. Both were part of the CBC Music Juno Awards Jazz Showcase, which you can see HERE. Michael has worked and recorded with artists as diverse as Don Byron, Bruce Cockburn, and classical pianist Stewart Goodyear, and is the leader of numerous projects including The Sicilian Jazz Project, ES:MO (Elizabeth Shepherd & Michael Occhipinti), Shine On: The Universe Of John Lennon, In Orbit (featuring Jeff Coffin & Felix Pastorius), NOJO (Neufeld-Occhipinti Jazz Orchestra), and The Triodes. Moving between jazz, global music, funk, pop, blues, r&b, and Chamber Music, and performing everywhere from worldwide festivals to your living room, please click on the various pages to discover Michael Occhipinti's many musical identities.
Elizabeth Shepherd and Michael Occhipinti perform at the fabulous Yardbird Suite in Edmonton, one of the best venues in Canada! With Tony Ferraro on drums.
ES:MO, Elizabeth Shepherd and Michael Occhipinti, with Tony Ferraro on drums, return to one of Canada's best music clubs!
Jazz FM presents and evening with ES:MO, Elizabeth Shepherd and Michael Occhipinti
Hugh's Room and Rosedale United Church team up to present The Toronto Songbook, with a variety of guests including Dala, with Michael Occhipinti as Musical Director.