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Laila Biali

Both Sides Now

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1 Both Sides Now

JUNO and SOCAN Music Award winner Laila Biali celebrates Canadian icon Joni Mitchell's birthday with an intimate cover of Mitchell's beloved song, "Both Sides Now." Biali's stripped down approach illuminates poignant lyrics that speak to the heart.

Multi-award winning singer-songwriter and pianist Laila Biali has performed on prestigious stages from New York City's Carnegie Hall to Beijing's National Centre for the Performing Arts. Known for her signature sound that "masterfully mixes jazz and pop" (Washington Post), Biali has received top honors including a 2020 SOCAN Music Songwriting Award plus the 2019 JUNO (Canada's GRAMMY) for Vocal Jazz Album. She has also toured with pop icon, Sting, and hosts a national radio show on CBC Music.

  • Laila Biali's 'Wintersongs' is a collection that can be appreciated any day of the year / textura
    Posted At: November 19, 2024
    textura…..Don't confuse Laila Biali's Wintersongs with Franz Schubert's Winterreise. The titles might be similar but his sombre, even gloomy song-cycle is worlds removed from the Canadian singer-songwriter's embrace of the season's splendour. Her so-called “musical love letter to winter” originated out of a two-week residency at Alberta's Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, an inspiring locale she's visit...

  • Laila Biali's 'Wintersongs' is rich with melodic beauty and infused with a sense of discovery / JAZZ CHILL MUSIC
    Posted At: November 11, 2024
    3 years in the making, the new album from multi-award-winning vocalist, pianist and composer Laila Biali offers a cinematic set of winter-themed original songs that feature JUNO-winner & GRAMMY-nominee Jane Bunnett, the Venuti String Quartet and chamber orchestra. 18 months after the release of her critically acclaimed and JUNO-nominated jazz standards album, Your Requests, Laila Biali is back with an e...

  • Laila Biali's 'Wintersongs' celebrates the beauty of season itself from a unique artistic perspective / THE JW VIBE
    Posted At: November 2, 2024
    3 years in the making, the new album from multi-award-winning vocalist, pianist and composer Laila Biali offers a cinematic set of winter-themed original songs that feature JUNO-winner & GRAMMY-nominee Jane Bunnett, the Venuti String Quartet and chamber orchestra. 18 months after the release of her critically acclaimed and JUNO-nominated jazz standards album, Your Requests, Laila Biali is back with an e...

  • Laila Biali releases: 'Wintersongs' / MAKING A SCENE
    Posted At: October 22, 2024
    MAKING A SCENE writes…….Laila Biali spent a winter season inside a cabin, surrounded by the snow-capped Rocky Mountains. It was to gain inspiration for this project.  She is very proud of her “Wintersongs”  album that took three years for this Canadian, award-winning vocalist, pianist and composer to make. This marks the talented lady’s tenth album as a bandleader. Her opening tune, “Drifting Down...

  • Laila Biali set for Coquitlam's 'Evergreen Cultural Centre' / north shore news
    Posted At: July 15, 2024
    From north shore news….North Vancouver-raised jazz musician Laila Biali returns to Coquitlam this month with a show for the Evergreen Cultural Centre's Summer Cocktail Concerts series.Tri-City News Staff writes…..North Vancouver musician Laila Biali loves to get tips. The host of CBC Music’s Saturday Night Jazz, she regularly receives recommendations from her listeners and crowd-sources her fans about what ...

  • Laila Biali says all the music she performs is a form of worship / Winnipeg Free Press
    Posted At: December 13, 2023
    Festive music creates connection to the divine. Holiday songs bring joy, spirituality to Christmas seasonWinnipeg Free Press - John Longhurst writes…..Growing up in a Baptist church in North Vancouver, the Christmas Eve service was always special for Laila Biali. “It was a highlight for me, a magical memory,” Biali, now 43, said of those candlelight services.Biali, an award-winning Canadian jazz singer/song...

  • Laila Biali's 'Your Requests,' showcases a remarkable collection of classic Great American Songbook tunes / jazzwise
    Posted At: July 18, 2023
    Multi award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter, pianist and CBC Music national radio host Laila Biali has headlined festivals and venues spanning five continents from New York City’s Carnegie Hall to Beijing’s National Centre for the Performing Arts, and supported international icon Sting. Her 2020 album release, Out of Dust, received rave reviews and was nominated for a 2021 JUNO Award. Laila was also hono...

  • The Jazz Session chats with Laila Biali
    Posted At: March 17, 2021

    Laila Biali just received a JUNO nomination for her 2020 album Out Of Dust, released during the pandemic and inspired by a challenging year in her personal life. "These new songs took shape as I processed my own feelings of doubt and loss," Biali reveals. "I believe that nothing is wasted, that even life's greatest challenges can produce something meaningful, even if only to make us more aw...

  • 'Straight No Chaser' podcast is talking ballads and love songs with Laila Biali
    Posted At: February 16, 2021

    Straight No Chaser's jeffrey Siegel writes......For Valentine's Day this year, I decided to do something different. Most year's I post an hour plus of music appropriate for the holiday, allowing you to download and enjoy the uninterrupted jazz as you celebrate with your valentine.  This year I asked myself - what if instead, I asked someone else to come up with a play list? In fact,...

  • Laila Biali covers Joni Mitchell classic 'A Case of You' for Valentine's Day / JAZZ.FM91
    Posted At: February 11, 2021

    JAZZ.FM91's Adam Feibel writes.....Just in time for Valentine's Day, Juno Award-winning singer-songwriter Laila Biali has shared a cover of Joni Mitchell's heart-stirring song A Case of You in an exclusive premiere with JAZZ.FM91. The Canadian pianist and vocalist is joined by George Koller on bass and her husband Ben Wittman on djembe for this intimate acoustic rendition of Mitchell's classic lo...

  • Laila Biali discusses music and performing during the pandemic, with 89.9WUCF
    Posted At: January 15, 2021

    Multi award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter, pianist and CBC Music national radio host Laila Biali has headlined festivals and venues spanning five continents from New York City's Carnegie Hall to Beijing's National Centre for the Performing Arts, and supported international icon Sting. In 2019, Laila's eponymous release won her a JUNO (Canada's GRAMMY) for "Vocal Jazz Album of the Yea...

  • Laila Biali - Out Of Dust makes 'Ottawa Citizen' Best Canadian Jazz of 2020
    Posted At: December 24, 2020

    While many jazz lovers will think poorly of 2020 because the global pandemic killed festivals, tours and gigs, the year also nonetheless saw the release of some exceptional music, and from Canada, no less.From lyrical trio gatherings to hard-swinging but thoroughly modern big band escapades, here are the best Canadian jazz albums of the year. Among our top picks is Laila Biali - Out of Dust on Chronograp...

  • Laila Biali - Out Of Dust makes the JAZZ.FM91: Year in review
    Posted At: December 16, 2020

    JAZZ.FM91 writes.....The jazz clubs all closed, and so did everything else. But thankfully, the music never stopped. This was a challenging year for most people. Yet jazz artists from around the world went on to release an impressive amount of great music - for some, the best of their careers. That music brought us a sense of excitement and hope at a time when we needed it most. One day, these musici...

  • Laila Biali - Out Of Dust makes DownBeat's 'Best Albums of 2020'
    Posted At: December 13, 2020

    A collection of songs about loss and empowerment, Laila Biali's Out Of Dust is melodic, catchy and personal. More pop than jazz, it seems cathartic, a way for the Vancouver-based vocalist to move beyond sorrow over the death of a good friend, fear for her own fragility and anxiety about the world. Biali would rather celebrate. The album spans the prairie folk strains of "Wendy's Song," the amus- ing ...

  • Laila Biali interview with Miami's 90.5WVUM
    Posted At: December 7, 2020

    Multi award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter, pianist and CBC Music national radio host Laila Biali has headlined festivals and venues spanning five continents from New York City's Carnegie Hall to Beijing's National Centre for the Performing Arts, and supported international icon Sting. In 2019, Laila's eponymous release won her a JUNO (Canada's GRAMMY) for "Vocal Jazz Album of the Yea...

  • 'Straight No Chaser' podcast features; Laila Biali's 'Silent Night'
    Posted At: December 4, 2020

    Looking to pick up some new jazz music for the Christmas season. Well, be sure to check this sampler of some of the best choices for new Christmas music this season. There's so much to choose from, with new albums from Warren Wolf and Brian Bromberg on Mack Avenue Records (What? No "Christmas on Mack Avenue" this year?); a compilation of Peggy Lee's classic Christmas music; and vocal albums from ...

  • Laila Biali - Silent Night makes 'TINNITIST Indie Roundup | 98 Tracks To Get You Through The Weekend'
    Posted At: December 4, 2020

    What do you get when you combine Bandcamp Friday, the first weekend in December and the dreams of every indie musician from Austria to Australia? Well, if you're me, you get more than 1,000 emails before noon. For the 'TINNITIST Indie Roundup | 98 Tracks To Get You Through The Weekend,' for the holidays check out Laila Biali's 'Silent Night.' "With the snow starting to c...

  • Laila Biali discusses 'Both Sides Now' with the Harmonious World podcast
    Posted At: November 21, 2020

    Multi-award winning singer-songwriter and pianist Laila Biali has performed on prestigious stages from New York City's Carnegie Hall to Beijing's National Centre for the Performing Arts. Known for her signature sound that "masterfully mixes jazz and pop" (Washington Post), Biali has received top honors including a 2020 SOCAN Music Songwriting Award plus the 2019 JUNO (Canada's GRAMMY) for Voc...

  • 97.9KBOG'S favorite songstress - Laila Biali releases; 'Both Sides Now'
    Posted At: October 22, 2020

    JUNO and SOCAN Music Award winner Laila Biali celebrates Canadian icon Joni Mitchell's birthday with an intimate cover of Mitchell's beloved song, "Both Sides Now". Biali's stripped down approach illuminates poignant lyrics that speak to the heart. Multi-award winning singer-songwriter and pianist Laila Biali has performed on prestigious stages from New York City's Carnegie Hall to Beijing's National Cen...

  • CBC Radio 1 premiering Laila Baila's 'Anthem' in celebration of Leonard Cohen's 86th birth anniversary
    Posted At: September 21, 2020

    Laila Biali released her cover of 'Anthem' by Leonard Cohen last Friday, Sept 18, for Leonard's birthday celebration TODAY Sept 21.  The 2019 JUNO-Award winner covers her fellow Canadian and music icon with his relevant song that delivers a salient message for the times we find ourselves in: "Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack ...

  • Laila Biali honoured with Hagood Hardy Prize at 31st annual SOCAN Awards
    Posted At: September 21, 2020

    Canada's most successful songwriters, composers and music publishers are will be honoured in the 31st annual SOCAN Awards, held for the first time online, with Shawn Mendes solidifying his place in songwriting royalty earning two of the most prestigious prizes, becoming the most-awarded SOCAN member in a single year. Follow @socanmusic on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (#2020SOCANawards) to join...

  • Jazz Variations spotlights Laila Biali's 'Out of the Dust'
    Posted At: August 24, 2020

    Laila Biali has been winning over fans and critics alike for years. Her first JUNO nomination came back in 2011 for the album Tracing Light. In 2019, Biali took home the JUNO award for "Best Vocal Jazz Album." Known for her engaging stage presence and popular appeal, Biali's music fills the space in between traditional jazz and contemporary pop - alongside artists like Brit sensation Jamie Cullu...

  • Laila Baila plays 'Satellite' from 'Out of the Dust' on 89.9WUCF - Live From Studio A
    Posted At: August 4, 2020

    Laila Biali has been winning over fans and critics alike for years. Her first JUNO nomination came back in 2011 for the album Tracing Light. In 2019, Biali took home the JUNO award for "Best Vocal Jazz Album." Known for her engaging stage presence and popular appeal, Biali's music fills the space in between traditional jazz and contemporary pop - alongside artists like Brit sensation Jamie Cullum and...

  • Laila Biali & Ben Wittman join JPR for a 'Live Session'
    Posted At: July 23, 2020

    Laila Biali has been winning over fans and critics alike for years. Case in point: her first JUNO nomination came back in 2011 for the album Tracing Light. In 2019, Laila Biali took home the JUNO award for "Best Vocal Jazz Album." Known for her engaging stage presence and popular appeal, Biali's music fills the space in between traditional jazz and contemporary pop - alongside artists like Brit sensa...

  • 'Glass House' from Laila Biali's 'Out of Dust' featured on Punto Radio's animajazz
    Posted At: July 13, 2020

    In episode 927 of "ANIMAJAZZ", conceived and conducted by BRUNO POLLACCI , broadcast on TUESDAY 14 July at 20.30, on PUNTORADIO, also streaming on www.puntoradio.fm and in an immediate podcast on http: // animajazz. eu will be protagonists of the evening includes; LAILA BIALI - CD "Out of Dust" - "Glass House". We remind you that "ANIMAJAZZ" can be heard on TUESDAY at 20.30 in immediate podcast ...

  • 97.9KBOG 'Deep Dives' with Laila Biali
    Posted At: July 9, 2020

    Bandon Community Radio Producer Chip Cassin explores some of KBOG's favorite recording artists with in-depth interviews on a personal level and airs them, along with their new music, on his show Deep Dive, Sundays at 1pm PST. Multi award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter and pianist Laila Biali has toured with Chris Botti, Paula Cole, Suzanne Vega and Sting. She has headlined festivals and...

  • Laila Biali's got lots of ideas, and shares them well on 'Out of Dust' / Jazz Weekly
    Posted At: June 4, 2020

    Laila Biali mixes sassy vocals and a rich vibrato to her clever lyrics as well as some well crafted covers on this recent album. She also plays piano and keyboards as she is supported by various strings, horns and a rhythm team of Rich Brown/eb, George Koller/ab, Larnel Lewis-Ben Wittman/dr, and Glen Patscha/key-org. She delivers a lovely aria of Gregory Porter's "Take Me To The Alley" and shows she can ...

  • Laila Biali interviews with 'Harmonious World'
    Posted At: June 1, 2020

    JUNO Award winner Laila Biali's new album, Out of Dust features not only contributions from the singer/pianist's husband; Ben Wittman and son, but also multiple GRAMMY nominees and winners including Lisa Fisher, Alan Ferber, John Ellis, and Larnell Lewis. "There's a line from a song by the indie gospel group, Gungor, that has become like an anthem to me," Biali says. "‘He makes bea...

  • Laila Biali discusses 'Out of Dust' with 88.9WUCF
    Posted At: May 28, 2020

    JUNO Award winner Laila Biali's new album, Out of Dust features not only contributions from the singer/pianist's husband; Ben Wittman and son, but also multiple GRAMMY nominees and winners including Lisa Fisher, Alan Ferber, John Ellis, and Larnell Lewis. "There's a line from a song by the indie gospel group, Gungor, that has become like an anthem to me," Biali says. "‘He makes beautifu...

  • Laila Biali discusses deeply personal new album; 'Out of Dust' with 90.7WGXC
    Posted At: May 11, 2020

    JUNO Award winner Laila Biali's new album, Out of Dust features not only contributions from the singer/pianist's husband; Ben Wittman and son, but also multiple GRAMMY nominees and winners including Lisa Fisher, Alan Ferber, John Ellis, and Larnell Lewis. "There's a line from a song by the indie gospel group, Gungor, that has become like an anthem to me," Biali says. "‘He makes beautifu...

  • 'Out of Dust' is of the very highest quality and a 'must have' for Laila Biali admirers / JAZZ VIEWS
    Posted At: April 30, 2020

    All but one of the songs are written or co-written by Laila and are mostly a response to her life experiences. It is a somewhat more subdued recording for the most part than her fans are used to, reflective but at the same time with an optimistic outlook towards the future. She has surrounded herself with a fine group of supporting musicians, with the soprano saxophone solos from Godwin Louis outstanding...

  • Laila Biali tours from home / MACLEAN'S
    Posted At: April 28, 2020

    It was a pretty good plan, back when people were still making make plans. In March of 2019 Toronto singer-pianist Laila Biali won a Juno award for jazz vocals. A year later she was all ready to follow up with a new album, Out of Dust, and three months of touring in Canada, the United States and Europe. Then the world went into pandemic lockdown. Out of Dust hit the market on schedule on March 27, but...

  • 89.7WUSF Listen - Music and conversation with Laila Biali
    Posted At: April 24, 2020

    On Monday April 27, 89.7WUSF: Tampa FL - All Night Jazz, the "Other Nine to Five, Mike Cornette shared music and conversation with Juno Award winning pianist and vocalist Laila Biali in advance of her upcoming performance on Wednesday, February 26 at Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center in Sarasota. In just a few short years, Laila Biali lost a close friend to cancer, mourned a family member&...

  • Laila Biali often expresses more in a single breath than others do in an entire album / All About Jazz
    Posted At: April 23, 2020

    There's no boxing Laila Biali in. A sharp-minded songwriter, respected pianist and celebrated vocalist who straddles jazz and pop with unusual ease and strength of vision, Biali is truly beyond category. Possessing clear eyes, a perceptive mien and a sharpshooters's gifts in regard to emotional aim, she often expresses more in a single breath than others do in an entire album. Capable of making y...

  • Laila Biali - Take Me to the Alley' makes KCRW: Rhythm Planet - Spring Mix
    Posted At: April 7, 2020

    JUNO Award winner Laila Biali's deeply personal new album, Out of Dust features not only contributions from the singer/pianist's husband; Ben Wittman and son, but also multiple GRAMMY nominees and winners including Lisa Fisher, Alan Ferber, John Ellis, and Larnell Lewis. "There's a line from a song by the indie gospel group, Gungor, that has become like an anthem to me," Biali says. "‘H...

  • Vocal jazz never got 'Slow Culture's' full attention until Laila Biali
    Posted At: April 3, 2020

    Jazz has always been Slow Culture's forte. That being said, vocal jazz never really got our full attention. But that was before Laila Biali's single Sugar hit our inbox on a rainy morning. At that time, we din't believe that the whole album would stay in our playlist for long. Little did we know! We will review ‘Out of Dust' – Laila Biali's eighth album – next week. To cure our wait (an...
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