Phil Dwyer

Phil Dwyer CM is a Canadian jazz saxophonist, pianist, composer, producer, and educator. He was born December 17, 1965, in Duncan, British Columbia, Canada. In 1988, Dwyer relocated to Toronto and established a freelance performing and recording career, as well as joining the music faculty at York University. His high school contemporaries included trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, bassist Pat Collins, and singer/pianist Diana Krall, for whom years later Dwyer would compose the tribute song 'Diana Piana'. Dwyer has been nominated for JUNO Awards six times and won Best Mainstream Jazz Album in 1994 with Dave Young for "Fables and Dreams" and Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year in 2012 for the recording "Changing Seasons." Dwyer has also appeared on JUNO Award-winning recordings with Hugh Fraser (1988), Joe Sealy (1997), Natalie MacMaster (2000), Guido Basso (2004), Don Thompson (2006), Molly Johnson (2009), Terry Clarke (2010), and Diana Panton (2015). Dwyer is a Member of the Order of Canada, having been invested in 2013 "For his contributions to jazz as a performer, composer and producer, and for increasing access to music education in his community." In 2014, Dwyer was admitted to the University of New Brunswick law school, graduated in 2017, and was called to the bar in British Columbia in 2018. Dwyer is a founding partner of Seawind Musical Instruments Inc., manufacturer of the Phil Dwyer Edition line of saxophones. His versatility as both saxophonist and pianist, combined with his compositional skills and dedication to education, has made him one of Canada's most respected jazz musicians.

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