The Istituto Italiano di Cultura Toronto and the Istituto Italiano di Cultura Montreal are pleased to present their 2022 resident artists, in an outdoor concert, with special guest Roberto Occhipinti.
Giancarlo Pirro | Guitar
Toronto
Federico Milone | Saxophone
Montreal
with
special guest
Roberto Occhipinti
Tuesday, June 21 | 6:30PM
Istituto Italiano di Cultura Toronto
496 Huron Street | Toronto ON
FREE EVENT | REGISTRATION REQUIRED
In the event of rain, the concert will be held indoors
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT
The Artist in Residence Project is devised by MIDJ – Associazione Musicisti Italiani di Jazz (Association of Italian Jazz Musicians) and made possible with the support of the Italian Society of Authors and Publishers (SIAE) and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI). Thanks in part to the participation of the Europe Jazz Network, the project aims to promote Italian jazz abroad through the creation of a network of residencies for young musicians at Embassies, Consulates and the Italian Cultural Institutes throughout the world.
ROBERTO OCCHIPINTI
Born in Toronto, Bassist Roberto Occhipinti is a well-established presence in the Canadian and International Jazz scene. A 5 time Juno awarded musician, he is equally at home playing classical music as well as jazz and world music. In addition to leading his own groups with 6 recordings under his name, he has performed, toured and recorded with Jane Bunnett, Hilario Duran, Jamey Haddad, Jovino Santos Neto, Don Byron, Jeff Coffin, Uri Caine, Bob Mintzer, Enrico Rava, Stefano Bollani, Benny Golson and Dafnis Prieto. As a classical musician, Roberto Occhipinti has performed with virtually every classical music ensemble in Toronto and has been a member of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the Hamilton Philharmonic, and the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra. In the field of contemporary music, he was principal bassist with the Esprit Orchestra for eight years, a member of Arraymusic for more than two decades, and performed with New Music Concerts. As a classical music producer, Occhipinti has worked on projects for the Gryphon Trio, Double Bass Virtuoso, Joel Quarrington, Quartetto Gelato, Annex String Quartet and the Las Vegas Young Artists Orchestra. As a Jazz Music Producer, he has produced recordings by Dave Young, Dafnis Prieto, Lorne Lofsky, Michael Occhipinti, Toronto Jazz Big Band, Composer’s Big Band, Manuel Valera and Hilario Duran. In addition to his work as bassist producer, Roberto Occhipinti founded a record label Modica Music with over 20 recordings of jazz, classical and world music artists. Notable recent projects include music director for the Pan Am Games orchestra with soloists Danilo Perez, John Patitucci and Brian Blade, European tours with Hilario Duran Trio as well as tours and residencies with his own quartet in Italy and the USA.
For more info: www.robertoocchipinti.com
Roberto Occhipinti discography as Leader
Trinacria-1998
The Cusp-2003
Yemaya-2005
A Bend In The River-2009
Stabilimento-2016
The Next Step-2021
GIANCARLO PIRRO | Toronto
Giancarlo Pirro is an Italian jazz guitarist and composer. His musical production is heterogeneous and draws from the jazz tradition and, at the same time, from other sources such as classical, contemporary and electronic music. Interested in tradition as he is in experimentation, Pirro’s natural inclination tends toward investigating the limits of music and toward research activity that often escapes adherence to precise stylistic rules. Pirro has performed throughout Italy in jazz and experimental music festivals. He has recently participated in various jazz festivals, including The Siena Jazz Masters festival, JAZZIT Festival, Silent Festival, and Springtime Jazz Festival. In addition, he has played with many musicians from the Italian jazz scene and beyond, such as Logan Richardson, Glenn Ferris, Giancarlo Schiaffini, Silvia Bolognesi, Roberto Ottaviano, Enrico Gabrielli, and Gianni Lenoci. iancarlo’s recording career began in 2015 with the release of the EP Neoteny, original experimental music recorded with the classic organ trio formation. In 2018, he recorded Coaction (Siena Jazz Records) with the eponymous ensemble and Glenn Ferris and Logan Richardson. Pirro also contributes as a composer on several tracks on the album. In April 2022, the single FANS (Second Variety) was released, a preview of an album by the electronic music duo Horselover FAT which will be released in the second half of 2022.
FEDERICO MILONE | Montreal
Federico Milone is an Italian saxophone player & composer based in Bruxelles. During Umbria Jazz 2012, he was awarded a Berklee College Of Music scholarship. In 2015, he studied in New York with Antonio Hart and Chad Lefkowitz-Brown. Also in 2015, he worked with percussion master Tullio De Piscopo and played on one of the most renowned Italian TV programs, “Porta a Porta,” on Italian state broadcaster, Rai1. He won first place in the Solo Artists category at the Massimo Urbani International Jazz Competition in 2017 (the jury presidents were Kurt Rosenwinkel and Fabrizio Bosso) and recorded his first album as a bandleader, “Right Now.” He played with his quartet in numerous festivals & clubs throughout Italy and Europe. He has been part of the “Il Jazz Italiano per le terre del sisma” for many years, a charity event supporting cities of central Italy affected by the earthquake. He collaborated with the Italian Cultural Institute and played in Istanbul, representing Italian jazz in Turkey. In July 2019, thanks to winning the 2018 “Tomorrow’s Jazz” prize in Venice, he played three concerts during the “Riga Ritmi Jazz Festival.” Also in 2019, Milone takes part in the Tullio De Piscopo & New Band tour. He currently lives in Bruxelles, where he is also an intern at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel working as an Assistant Professor, teaching courses on Jeroen Van Herzeele.