Laila Biali
Encyclopedia
Laila Biali, is a Canadian
-born Jazz
singer, songwriter
and piano performer. She is a Juno Award
nominated performer and has won numerous other honours. She has performed with and opened for Chris Botti, Sting, Dave Brubeck, Diana Krall, Paula Cole, Suzanne Vega and others.
and began playing piano at the age of 4. She studied classical piano for many years and developed an interest in Jazz in her late teens. She began her professional career at age 19 when she moved to Toronto
to attend Humber College on scholarships. By 2003, she had won the CBC Galaxie Prize (Rising Star Award) at the National Jazz Awards. In 2005, she won SOCAN Keyboardist of the Year and Composer of the Year at the National Jazz Awards.
She performs regularly around the world and her most prolific performance includes taking to the stage at Carnegie Hall in NYC. She plays regularly to sold out audiences at Glenn Gould Theatre in Toronto. She has also toured with Paula Cole, Chris Botti and Suzanne Vega. (She met her husband - drummer Ben Wittman - on tour with Cole.) In 2009 she performed live on NBC Today, The View and David Letterman with Sting as one of his back-up singers. She recorded the DVD
for If On a Winter's Night with Sting in Tuscany
in August 2009.
Her first independent album was released in 2003, Introducing the Laila Biali Trio. It was followed up with the CBC Records commissioned release From Sea to Sky: Laila Biali, released: June 19, 2007 which features cover versions of popular Canadian songs including Mushaboom. Her third album Tracing Light was released independently on October 26, 2010 and is currently distributed by Select Distribution in Canada. One week later, the compilation album World Jazz for Haiti (produced by Biali's Tracing Light producer and Bass player George Koller) was released on November 1, 2010 which features her performing an original song Radiance. The album proceeds benefit victims of the earthquake in Haiti.
Biali was nominated for a Juno Award
for her Tracing Light album in February 2011. The summer of 2011, she tours Canada in a coast-to-coast festival tour as well as the kick-off date in her new hometown of New York at The Rockwood in early June. On tour, Biali performs with longtime collaborators, drummer Larnell Lewis and stand-up bass player George Koller.
, New York
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
-born Jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
singer, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
and piano performer. She is a Juno Award
Juno Award
The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...
nominated performer and has won numerous other honours. She has performed with and opened for Chris Botti, Sting, Dave Brubeck, Diana Krall, Paula Cole, Suzanne Vega and others.
Career
Biali was born in VancouverVancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
and began playing piano at the age of 4. She studied classical piano for many years and developed an interest in Jazz in her late teens. She began her professional career at age 19 when she moved to Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
to attend Humber College on scholarships. By 2003, she had won the CBC Galaxie Prize (Rising Star Award) at the National Jazz Awards. In 2005, she won SOCAN Keyboardist of the Year and Composer of the Year at the National Jazz Awards.
She performs regularly around the world and her most prolific performance includes taking to the stage at Carnegie Hall in NYC. She plays regularly to sold out audiences at Glenn Gould Theatre in Toronto. She has also toured with Paula Cole, Chris Botti and Suzanne Vega. (She met her husband - drummer Ben Wittman - on tour with Cole.) In 2009 she performed live on NBC Today, The View and David Letterman with Sting as one of his back-up singers. She recorded the DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
for If On a Winter's Night with Sting in Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
in August 2009.
Her first independent album was released in 2003, Introducing the Laila Biali Trio. It was followed up with the CBC Records commissioned release From Sea to Sky: Laila Biali, released: June 19, 2007 which features cover versions of popular Canadian songs including Mushaboom. Her third album Tracing Light was released independently on October 26, 2010 and is currently distributed by Select Distribution in Canada. One week later, the compilation album World Jazz for Haiti (produced by Biali's Tracing Light producer and Bass player George Koller) was released on November 1, 2010 which features her performing an original song Radiance. The album proceeds benefit victims of the earthquake in Haiti.
Biali was nominated for a Juno Award
Juno Award
The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...
for her Tracing Light album in February 2011. The summer of 2011, she tours Canada in a coast-to-coast festival tour as well as the kick-off date in her new hometown of New York at The Rockwood in early June. On tour, Biali performs with longtime collaborators, drummer Larnell Lewis and stand-up bass player George Koller.
Discography
- Introducing the Laila Biali Trio, (2003)
- From Sea to Sky: Laila Biali, (2007)
- Tracing Light, (2010)
- World Jazz for Haiti, (2010)
Personal life
Biali is married to Ben Wittman (a drummer) and has one son, Joshua. She currently lives in BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.