A finalist from Canada’s “The Voice,” David Marino is a singer making headway internationally, performing at prestigious venues and jazz clubs across North America. Marino performs regularly at Place des Arts in Montreal, and at Birdland with Billy 
Stritch. He just completed his West Coast US debut tour starting in San Francisco, and was just in Rome making his European debut in September. Marino is an actor as well, and a graduate of The Neighborhood Playhouse. He recently played the lead role of Melchior in Contact Theatre’s production of the musical Spring Awakening. On a personal note, the singer is an advocate for mental health causes and has helped raise $50,000 for the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal. He will be releasing his first live EP in 2025 and is currently working on his debut studio album.
David Marino returns to Birdland on December 30 at 7 PM. Click here for more information and tickets.
NiteLife Exchange (NLE) asks David Marino (DM) Six Questions:
NLE: Being from our neighbor up North, what was the jazz scene like for you growing up? How did you come to jazz and who were your chief influences?
DM: Being from Montreal, I was immersed in jazz culture! Montreal is a terrific jazz city with one of the most renowned summer jazz festivals in the world. My love for jazz, however, started mainly with my Dad, who introduced me to a Sinatra record when I was 8 years old. He played for me Gershwin’s “They Can’t Take That Away from Me,” which is what ignited my passion for standards. When I was 10 years old, I met a wonderful Canadian pianist by the name of John Gilbert, who I took lessons with weekly, and even still to this day! John helped me expand my knowledge of the great songs, writer
s and lyricists from the Great American Songbook. Besides Sinatra, Mel Tormé, Rosemary Clooney, Ella Fitzgerald and many others, I would say my chief influence and biggest idol growing up was Tony Bennett. My family and I saw him live at Radio City, which was the best concert I’ve ever seen! Being of Italian descent, with Italian immigrant grandparents, I also grew up listening to a lot of Italian classics and classical music, with inspirations like Pavarotti and Claudio Villa. Of course, since I was born in a bilingual province, I was also inspired by great French music, mainly the songs of Michel Legrand and Charles Aznavour.
NLE: What was the Canadian “The Voice” experience like? Was that something you decided to undertake or were there mentors or others who said, “David, this is something you MUST do!”
DM: My experience on the Canadian “The Voice” was wonderful. The Canadian version of the show is actually fully in French, which was a lot of fun! I actually didn’t actively audition for the show, I was reached out to by a member of “The Voice” team, who had asked me if I was interested in audition. The show has ‘scouts’ that actively search for new talent. After being approached, I decided
to go for it, and did multiple pre-auditions and finally the televised blind audition, where the four coaches turned their chairs. I then made it to the finals where I finished in third place! I even won a trip to China! Why was that the prize? I don’t know! Best of all though, I got to work with a wonderful French-Canadian singer-songwriter by the name of Pierre Lapointe, who I am still friends with today. I was only 17 years old at the time, and learned so much from being on the show. It helped me grow tremendously as an artist.
NLE: You’re a graduate of The Neighborhood Playhouse… and you’ve done acting work. What’s your approach to unfolding dual careers?
DM: After “The Voice,” I decided to really train and hone my craft. Studying acting is one of the best things I decided to do for my career, and doing so at The Neighborhood Playhouse, a school with tremendous teachers and so much great history, was truly transformative for my career. Since studying acting, I was in a production of Spring Awakening here in Canada, playing Melchior Gabor. As far as approaching dual careers goes, I believe the acting and the singing go hand in hand. My main objective is to share who I am, whether it’s through the vehicle of songs in a concert setting, or through the vehicle of a character. And it helps that it’s all fun!
NLE: An album is in the works; what can you tell us about content, band personnel, release date and so on?
DM: I have a live EP of four songs being released in February, from a concert I did here in Montreal with a quartet of musicians. I am very excited to share some of that show with people! Besides that, I am also working with a label here in Canada on my first studio album, which will likely be released in 2025 as well. Details on content, band personnel to come!
NLE: You’ve got an interest in advocacy and helping to raise funds and stimulate interest in causes, specifically mental health. How did you arrive at this worthy and splendid activism?
DM: I started my advocacy for mental health causes when I was 16 years old. A cousin of mine struggled with mental illness growing up, and I always felt I wanted to make a difference and help that cause. Especially since there is such a stigma associated with mental health. People often struggle asking for help, and talking about their mental illnesses, and I really think there is no 
better way to “stop the silence” than through music. So, I decided to contact Montreal’s Jewish General Hospital’s mental health foundation, MINDSTRONG, and asked how to go about organizing fundraising concerts for the cause. They were totally on board and we organized three concerts, raising over $50,000. That all contributed towards building a new psychiatric facility at the hospital. Working with that foundation, and all the incredibly generous people involved, was truly one of my proudest accomplishments.
NLE: As a young performer at the start of a career in which you’ve already received rave notices, what does the future look like to you—hopes, dreams, aspirations?
DM: When I was 9 years old, and visited New York for the first time with my family, I remember stopping by Carnegie Hall, and telling my mom, “One day, I want to do my own show here.” The biggest dream has always been to record albums, tour and do concerts in beautiful concert halls all over the world. Since discovering my passion for acting, I would also love to be on Broadway one day, of course! I’m so grateful that I already get to perform so frequently in New York, and with legends like Billy Stritch at the piano. It’s quite surreal. I can’t wait for what’s to come!
