Roberto Occhipinti forms top-flight piano trio for new album The Next Step
Over the years, Occhipinti has earned a large presence in jazz scenes in Canada and worldwide. Recently, he’s been recording with Cuban musicians, with notable appearances on records by Hilario Duran and Jane Bunnett. His body of work extends even further outside the scope of jazz as he’s performed with top-rated Canadian musicians and orchestras around the world. While recording, Occhipinti uses the various techniques he’s acquired from many different musical disciplines and artists.
“My other recording projects were for larger ensembles with winds and strings. For The Next Step, I would be the string section, using techniques I learned in my career playing classical and contemporary music,” he says.
The compositions on The Next Step reference his influences from classical ballads, Afrobeat and pivotal musicians like McCoy Tyner, Jaco Pastorius and Stevie Wonder. On this project, Occhipinti takes the opportunity to let his voice on solos truly shine while giving equal space for Farrugia and Lewis to colourfully accompany his compositions and take their own solos, too.
Here’s the track listing for The Next Step:
- The Next Step
- Emancipation Days
- The Peacocks
- Il Muro
- O Cessate Di Piagarmi
- Three Man Crew
- Opus Pocus
- Steveland
- A Tynerish Swing
Roberto Occhipinti’s The Next Step was released March 4 via Modica Music.