Laila Biali - Wintersongs & Holiday Classics Sunday, December 15, 2024 at 3:00 PM

The LOFT/Port Hope Jazz presents: LAILA BIALI - Wintersongs & Holiday Classics

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2024 at 3:00 PM

CONCERT HALL at VICTORIA HALL

Following a triumphant near sold-out premiere at Toronto's Koerner Hall in 2022, Laila Biali brings Wintersongs & Holiday Classics across Canada in a multi-city album release tour This offering features winter-inspired original material alongside thrilling arrangements of beloved secular and sacred classics, in an enchanted experience of snow-swept landscapes, twinkling lights, and the magic of the holiday season. Laila will be joined by her trio, George Koller (bass) and Ben Wittman (drums), as well as GRAMMY nominee and multi JUNO winner Jane Bunnett, and an illustrious String Quartet.

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 honoured by SOCAN Music with the Hagood Hardy Award for Excellence in Songwriting. In 2019, Laila’s eponymous release won her a JUNO Award (Canada’s GRAMMY) for “Vocal Jazz Album of the Year.” The year prior, she was awarded top prize at the Canadian Songwriting Competition in the Jazz category. Laila was also 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.” She received her first JUNO nomination for Tracing Light (2011), and a spot on DownBeat Magazine’s “Best Albums of the Year” for both Live in Concert (2013) and Out of Dust (2020). In September of 2017, Laila was brought on as the host for CBC Music’s national radio show, Saturday Night Jazz, a weekly show broadcast to millions of listeners across Canada. While Laila continues to earn high honours in the jazz world, her signature sound transcends genre as she “masterfully mixes jazz and pop, bringing virtuosity and unpredictability to songs that are concise and catchy” (Washington Post). Her 2023 release - Your Requests - showcases personal arrangements of jazz classics requested by her social media community and features guest vocalists Kurt Elling, Emilie-Claire Barlow, and Caity Gyorgy as well as instrumentalists Anat Cohen, Grégoire Maret, Kelly Jefferson, Michael Davidson, George Koller, Larnell Lewis, Ben Wittman and Maninho Costa.

“Biali’s voice - spanning registers - is pure and warm. She’s also fearless on piano and in her imagination.” - DownBeat Magazine Laila's most recent album release, Wintersongs & Holiday Classics is touring Canadian and select American cities in November and December 2024. Experience this show in Cobourg on December 15, 2024.

Tickets are $50 plus hst and service fee and available at the Concert Hall Box Office: 855-372-2210