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| Introducing a new single from Laila Biali For the first time in more than 10 years, JUNO Winner Laila Biali returns to the Great American Songbook as she launches her latest release, Your Requests, Volume 1. Widely recognized for her original material, this shift back to classic jazz repertoire was prompted by Laila's delight in fulfilling the song requests of her fans. When Laila asked her social media followers what tunes they'd like to hear her cover, more than 150 songs were submitted. Your Requests, Volume 1 debuts the first collection of Laila's dynamic and personal arrangements in response to her listeners, which she describes as a musical love letter to them. The full album will be launched in May of 2023 on Empress Records. The first single is Autumn Leaves, a timeless jazz standard that reaches back to Laila's days as a music student at Humber College. It was one of the first tunes Laila ever learned and thus carries deep nostalgic meaning. But right from the cascading piano intro that conjures up images of leaves falling, Laila transforms the old chestnut into something entirely new. Her vocals are warm and immediate, accompanied by floating piano chords reminiscent of Debussy and Ravel. George Koller's arco bass entry adds grandeur, setting the stage for an unexpected and exciting shift when Larnell Lewis joins with his masterful drums and Kelly Jefferson builds a thrilling soprano saxophone solo. Things settle back down to a simmer as Laila's vocals re-enter with Baroque-like bass arpeggios from George, and the arrangement ends where it began – with sweeping piano runs truly evocative of the fall season. Autumn Leaves will be released on Friday, October 28th on all DSPs. 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 latest full album release, Out of Dust, received rave reviews and was nominated for a 2021 JUNO Award. In 2020, Laila was honoured by SOCAN Music with the Hagood Hardy Award for Excellence in Songwriting. In 2019, Laila's eponymous release won her a JUNO (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 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). write your comments about the article :: © 2022 Jazz News :: home page |