Manuel Álvarez was born in Barcelona in 1967. He began playing electric bass as a self-taught musician at the age of 14, and at 20 he entered the Taller de Músics in Barcelona to complete his formal musical training. At the same institution he later became a teacher of electric bass and double bass between 2001 and 2008. In 2008 he also graduated from ESMUC (Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya). Nevertheless, his development as a double bassist has been largely self-taught, although he has taken occasional lessons with masters such as Pierre Boussaguet and Javier Colina.
Although he has made many forays into other styles such as flamenco — accompanying guitarist Eduardo Niebla — Latin music — with Septeto Barcelona — dance — with La Tribu de Santi Arisa and Orquesta Galana — and folk — with Figues d'un altre paner — the main focus of his career has always been jazz.
In 1997 he joined the Barcelona Jazz Orchestra, then directed by Oriol Bordas, where he shared the stage with musicians such as Ignasi Terraza and Joan Chamorro, among others. With the BJO he toured extensively throughout Spain accompanying American artists such as Frank Wess and Jesse Davis. They also recorded the album September in the Rain, featuring Jesse Davis and Randy Greer as soloists, for the Swingfónic Records label.
In 1998 he became a member of the Ignasi Terraza Trio. With this formation they toured intensively throughout Spain, Portugal, France and Switzerland, and recorded two albums: Let Me Tell You Something and Jazz a les Fosques Volumes 1 and 2, also for Swingfónic Records. The latter was the result of a three-month residency at the Teatreneu in Barcelona. With this trio they also recorded Night Sounds, led by Catalan saxophonist Toni Solà.
During the second stage of the Barcelona Jazz Orchestra, directed by Dani Alonso, they toured extensively in Spain and France accompanying artists such as Nicholas Payton, Benny Golson, Phil Woods, Jesse Davis, Ann Hampton Calloway, Susana Sheiman, Randy Greer and Emmanuel Djob. They recorded the albums My Man Benny with Phil Woods and Once Upon a Time with Nicholas Payton. During this period he also met French drummer Jean Pierre Derouard, with whom he would later record Lined with a Groove, Manuel Álvarez’s first personal project.
Between 2000 and 2010, together with Mauritian-born guitarist Erwyn Seerutton, he was a member of trombonist Dani Alonso’s trio, and was also closely linked to the Gospel Gràcia choir. With the choir they recorded two albums: one featuring Cameroonian singer Emmanuel Djob, and another with Ricard Gili and Susana Sheiman as soloists, titled Remembering Louis.
During this same period Manuel Álvarez also collaborated with Esteve Molero in projects such as the Transpenedès Big Band, recorded Blues Rooted with Big Mama Montse, and worked with Joan Chamorro and Andrea Motis on what would become her first album, Joan Chamorro Presents Andrea Motis.
In 2010 Manuel Álvarez settled in London, where he quickly became a regular on the local jazz scene, performing with artists such as T.J. Johnson, Al Nicholls, Paul Robinson, Kai Hoffmann, Claire Martin, Richard Pite, Steve Brown, Nigel Price, Mornington Lockett and Ray Gelato. With Al Nicholls he recorded That Swing Thing, and with Ray Gelato he has recorded Live at the Hideaway, Locked Down But Not Out and Live at Ronnie Scott’s, touring extensively throughout the UK and Europe, with annual residencies at Ronnie Scott’s, Pizza Express Jazz Club and Umbria Jazz.
As a sideman, Manuel Álvarez has collaborated with a wide range of artists including Ilja Reijngoud, Scott Hamilton, Tony Lakatos, Leo Green, Dave Newton, Esteve Pi, Fabio Miano, D. Daniels, Gerard Nieto, Gunther Kurmayr, Genne “Mighty Flea” Conners, Charmine Michelle, Andy Dickens, Stacey Kent, Dave Keech, Michel McCain, Monica Green, Julian Vaughn, Oriol Romero, Peer Wyboris, Dave Mitchell, Mike Henry, Enrique Piedrahita, Fritz Landesbergen, Richard Busiakiewicz, León Greening, Guillaume Nouaux, Mat Home, Vasilis Xenopoulos, Charlie Gabriel, Alex Garnett, Sam Watts, Emma Smith, Wendell Brunious, Ed Richardson, Joel Bradford, Mark Taylor and Steve Brown, among many others. He has performed at most of Europe’s major jazz festivals and clubs.
In 2008 he recorded his first album as a leader, Lined With a Groove, a tribute to double bass legend Ray Brown, with Gerard Nieto on piano and Jean Pierre Derouard on drums. In 2025 he recorded his second album as a leader, What We Are Here For, with Gunther Kurmayr on piano and Mark Taylor on drums.
He currently divides his time between London and the island of Menorca, where he has organised several music festivals through the Clariana Association, and continues to tour across Europe with projects such as the Ray Gelato Giants, the Ignasi Terraza Trio and his own trio. He has also been involved in the jazz-focused production company Swingfónic, is a founding partner of the music publishing house Libros del Kultrum, and has recently founded his own record label, Mannix Records.
