Acrpost: A Project of the Pacific Association of Artist Run Centres

Event Description

Critically acclaimed as one of Canada’s finest jazz-pop musicians, Laila Biali is a gifted singer, pianist, and songwriter. She takes the best of pop, rock, classical, world, and soul music and weaves them into her jazz arrangements and original songs.

Now based in Brooklyn, Laila performs around the world, from Peru to Tokyo’s Cotton Club. Her appearance at last year’s TD Victoria International JazzFest was a smash hit! When not creating and performing her own music, Laila has been a backup vocalist for Sting and toured with Suzanne Vega, Chris Botti, and Paula Cole.

Laila started playing jazz professionally at age 19 and has been winning awards and accolades ever since. She has won “Keyboardist of the Year” and “Composer of the Year” at the National Jazz Awards. Her 2011 album Tracing Light was a “Best Vocal Jazz Album of the Year” Juno award nominee. Downbeat named her album Live In Concert one of the “Best Albums of 2013” and gave it a glowing four star review.

This performance will celebrate the release of Laila’s latest album, House of Many Rooms, which was co-produced by her husband Ben Wittman. On this CD, Laila ventures into a more pop-oriented sound while honouring her jazz roots. It is full of catchy hooks, sweet melodies, and anthemic musical arrangements. For this performance, Laila’s band features Anna Atkinson violin/vocals/musical saw, Graham Campbell guitar/ukulele/vocals, Chris Tarry electric bass, and Ben Wittman drums.

For more information about this performance: http://jazzvictoria.ca/society/event/laila-biali-radiance-project