David Occhipinti

A Canadian jazz guitarist, David Occhipinti has played stages all over the world, and has been nominated for two Juno Awards in his native land. Born December 26, 1966, in Toronto, Occhipinti picked up his first guitar at 13 and was composing at 16. He entered a college music program in 1984, and in 1989 began attending the Banff School of Fine Arts. Upon his departure from Banff, Occhipinti moved to New York, and then began a regular performance regimen in Italy. In 1996 the guitarist moved back to Canada after two years of constant performance and residence in Italy, and within a year Occhipinti released his first album, a self-titled affair. The follow-up, Syzygy, was released in 1999, a year that also marked the formation of the duo project Occhipinti formed with tenor saxophonist Mike Murley. Their 2002 release, Duologue, was nominated for a number of awards, including a Juno. Although Occhipinti would return to his solo/group project, the Murley & Occhipinti duo released a follow-up in 2005, entitled Duologue, Vol. 2. Intersection, the third release from the David Occhipinti Group, featured Murley on saxophone, Andrew Downing on bass, and Terry Clarke on drums. The lineup would return for their next release, Forty Revolutions, which hit the streets in October of 2007. In addition to his recorded work, in 2006 Occhipinti composed "Four Pieces for String Quartet" especially for the Madawaska String Quartet. Occhipinti scored yet another Juno Award nomination in 2008.