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2x JUNO-Nominated Jazz singer and actor Alex Bird has become one of the most exciting names on the Canadian Jazz scene. With praise from around the globe and alongside songwriting & piano partner Ewen Farncombe, Bird has created timeless and heartfelt originals for a modern audience. This talented team has produced something that is completely unique: four original & independent albums. Their sophomore album, You Are the Light and the Way, backed by their Jazz Mavericks, was nominated for "Best Vocal Jazz" at the 2022 JUNO Awards. Also in 2022, Bird & Farncombe wrote and released Canada’s Thanksgiving anthem, The Sweetest Moments, which received a national ad campaign across Canada, with interviews on CBC, CTV, and other major news outlets.
Bird and Farncombe’s third album, a duo record, dropped as a surprise of 11 originals entitled Songwriter in November of 2023. Kira Grunenberg at Downbeat Magazine wrote, "Impassioned messages sung and played from one’s heart but worn on a well-dressed sleeve. Songwriter is an elegant, romantic, and well-executed gem of a record." Songwriter was nominated for "Best Vocal Jazz" at the 2024 JUNO Awards.
From headlining the Sudbury Jazz Festival to making appearances at The Markham Jazz Festival, The Kensington Market Jazz Festival, and The Niagara Jazz Festival, and playing such top-notch music venues as The Jazz Bistro, Upstairs Jazz, Knox Hall, Reid’s Distillery, The Old Mill, and Sellers & Newel, Alex Bird & The Jazz Mavericks are continuing their growing momentum.
In the Summer of 2024, Bird & Farncombe began releasing "Casanova, Bossa Nova, Lover Man", an all-original Bossa Nova collaboration with Latin Grammy Award Winner and Grammy Nominee Cheo, the founding member of one of the biggest bands to come out of Venezuela, the jazz/funk band Los Amigos Invisibles, discovered by David Byrne. To cap off 2024, Alex Bird & The Jazz Mavericks released their 4th album, an all-original Christmas album called "Another Christmas Day". Not only recorded live off the floor, the album was also recorded without the use of headphones or studio monitors. The record received much praise, including a special Christmas spot on Global News with Susan Hay.
To kick off 2025, Alex Bird & The Jazz Mavericks were the headlining opening act for Markham's prestigious "Jazzlicious Winterfest" series, with 5 nights of shows. The journey continues as Bird & Farncombe are now in the process of writing their 5th album, and working on a major collaboration with The Bobby Darin Estate.
"Every now and again, an act emerges from the cosmos and shakes up the planet. One of those groundbreaking bands is Alex Bird and the Jazz Mavericks. Bird and his group of talented players are rewriting the textbook for vocal-infused Jazz." - Metronome Magazine
Bird was adopted from Romania and came to Canada at six weeks old. He literally grew up with the classics. Starting at the age of two, he was taken to hang around the Toronto Jazz scene and had the opportunity to see and meet many of the greats along the way: Tony Bennett, Diana Krall, Ray Brown, Oscar Peterson, Mel Tormé, Ray Charles...the list goes on. Without even knowing it, his musical training developed, sitting around at smoky Jazz clubs into the wee small hours of the morning.
In between singing gigs, Alex also graces the screen with incredible charisma and talent. Alex studied classical theatre acting at George Brown and film acting at Humber. Most recently, he starred as Vincent in the series Day Players, and on CBC's "Frankie Drake Mysteries" as Al Capone. In September of 2019, Alex made his feature film debut in "IT: Chapter 2" alongside Bill Hader.
