Biali, Laila

Websites:  http://www.lailabiali.com/
Origin: Vancouver, British Columbia→Toronto, Ontario, 🇨🇦
Biography:

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 JUNO-nominated 2023 album, Your Requests, featured a stellar cast of guests and received a 4.5 star rave review in All About Jazz. Her previous release, Out of Dust, was also JUNO nominated (in 2021) and won Laila spots on “Best Album” lists around the globe. In 2020, Laila was honoured by SOCAN Music with the Hagood Hardy Award for Excellence in Songwriting. The previous year, Laila’s eponymous release won her a JUNO for “Vocal Jazz Album of the Year” and top prize at the Canadian Songwriting Competition in the Jazz category. Laila was the youngest-ever double winner at Canada’s National Jazz Awards when she was named “SOCAN Composer of the Year” and “Keyboardist of the Year”, and she received her first JUNO nomination for Tracing Light in 2011. When Laila isn’t on stage or in the studio, she’s busy hosting CBC Music’s national radio show, Saturday Night Jazz – a weekly program broadcast to millions of listeners across Canada. And while she continues to earn high honours in the jazz world, Laila’s signature sound transcends genre – “masterfully mixes jazz and pop, bringing virtuosity and unpredictability to songs that are concise and catchy” (Washington Post). Her highly anticipated seasonal album, Wintersongs, was nominated for a 2025 JUNO Award and a 2026 GRAMMY alongside Lady Gaga, Barbra Streisand, Elton John & Brandi Carlile, Jennifer Hudson and Laufey.

“Masterfully mixes jazz and pop, bringing virtuosity and unpredictability to songs that are concise and catchy” – The Washington Post

“Biali’s voice – spanning registers – is pure and warm. She’s also fearless on piano and, above else, in her imagination.” – DownBeat Magazine

“There’s no boxing Laila Biali in … Capable of making you laugh and cry all at once.” – All About Jazz

“Biali provides the positive, come-together messaging we need in these challenging times.” – Parade Magazine

“… moving, inspiring, and life-affirming songs.” – SOCAN Music

BIO OLD
Laila Biali is fast becoming the new face of contemporary jazz. From touring with Suzanne Vega, Chris Botti and Paula Cole to recording with and supporting Sting on his If On a Winter's Night DVD and tour, her resume precedes her. The past two years has seen a renewed focus on her skills as composer, arranger, singer and pianist. Her reputation for challenging the boundaries of music is unparallelled. She takes the best of pop, rock, classical and soul, informs it with her knowledge of Jazz and weaves it all into her musical arrangements seamlessly. Laila's music has been presented at prestigious venues spanning four continents including the North Sea Jazz Festival, Tokyo's Cotton Club, Peru's El Festival Internacional de Lima, and Carnegie Hall in New York City. Her latest studio recording Tracing Light received a JUNO nomination for "2011 Best Vocal Jazz Album of the Year" and her most recent release Live in Concert, recorded live in February 2012 in front of a gracious audience at the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto, Canada, captures the spirit of live performance so essential to Jazz. Her accolades include "SOCAN Composer of the Year" and "Keyboardist of the Year" at Canada's National Jazz Awards. She currently splits her time between New York City and Toronto.