The Notes Between with Laila Biali

Women in Jazz Media: The Podcasts

Welcome to the next episode of the Women in Jazz Media podcast series’ The Notes Between’ with Lara Eidi. Conversations exploring everything behind and about the world of songwriting! Our theme music ‘Breathe Love’ is from Lara Eidi herself available here

In this episode, Lara talks to songwriter Laila Biali

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). This coming November, she will release her brand new Wintersongs album, embarking on a cross-country Canadian tour with a virtuosic ensemble that includes Jane Bunnett, members of the Venuti String Quartet, George Koller, Ben Wittman, the dancers Andrea Nann and Sara Prosper, as well as local youth choirs.

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

Athens born to Lebanese Canadian parents, Lara Eidi is an artist that thrives on being different. As an independent artist, singer and multi- instrumentalist, she has carved a path for herself that continuously aimed at reshaping and developing her voice as a storyteller. An accomplished and reputable singer-songwriter, pianist, recording artist and jazz- folk vocalist of her own accord based in London and Athens. Her music has gained her critical acclaim as a genre bending artist (BBC Artist, 2020), described as “a singer with true gift of a voice, a kind soul, and a captivating presence.” (Jazz UK). At the heart of her being as a multi-disciplinary artist, she is sought after as a composer for vocal film scores, writes as a freelance music journalist, and is in demand as a creative workshop leader. Her music seeks to elevate and heal, and as a result, she creates genre- defying songs with a great emphasis on story telling. Her latest album ‘Sun’, her long awaited debut album, is all about pulling the threads of her folk, acoustic rock and jazz-classical upbringing to her message of hope, empowerment, and freedom. As a soloist, her recent debut performance at the infamous Royal Albert Hall, singing select pieces from Greece and Lebanon form the MedievalByzantine Traditions sees Lara engaging on a series of select and innovative performances with the SAUDHA Indian Classical Music Assocation.

Lara Eidi website