SHARES STUNNING RENDITION OF MY FUNNY VALENTINE

WATCH THE ACCOMPANYING VISUAL TODAY

TORONTO, ON – February 14, 2023 – Just in time for the most romantic day of the year, JUNO Award-winning vocalist/pianist, Laila Biali, has released her stunning rendition of the jazz standard and love song, My Funny Valentine. The song is the latest track to be released from Biali’s forthcoming new album, Your Requests, Volume 1, which sees the acclaimed artist returning to the Great American Songbook for the first time in more than 10 years. Feel the love with My Funny Valentine today (listen / watch here), and get ready for Your Requests, Volume 1 arriving May 26^th.

A tender duet version with multi-GRAMMY winner, Kurt Elling, Biali’s arrangement of My Funny Valentine gently moves away from the quintessential recordings of the classic ballad with subtle reharmonizations; her breathy and intimate vocal delivery a lovely counterpart to Elling’s playful, adventurous approach.

"My Funny Valentine is one of the great Rodgers & Hart classics,” comments Biali. “It's absolutely a traditional love song, but I have always felt there was room here to challenge preconceived notions about Valentine's Day and what a 'Valentine' is defined as. On social media, I put out a call to my followers asking them to submit their Valentine's moments – captures of sweethearts, friends, pets, and nature that warm the heart and bring that cozy Valentine's feeling. Who says it has to be strictly about romantic love? (We don't!)"

Of the video for My Funny Valentine, Biali adds, “This video features my wonderful band – Kelly Jefferson, George Koller and Larnell Lewis – in the studio creating the very track you're listening to. It was our first time ever playing my arrangement of the classic song, but it immediately felt like I was slipping on a favourite pair of slippers – warm, comfy, cozy and inviting. We also chose to intersperse some very personal moments through the years shared between my husband and co-producer, Ben Wittman, and our son Joshua.” 

Widely recognized for her original material, this shift back to classic jazz repertoire was prompted by Biali’s delight in fulfilling the song requests of her fans. When she put out the call on social media asking her 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 Biali’s dynamic and personal arrangements in response to her listeners, which she describes as a musical love letter to them. The album features guest vocalists, Kurt Elling (2x GRAMMY winner), Emilie-Claire Barlow (2x JUNO winner), and Caity Gyorgy (JUNO winner); clarinet virtuoso, Anat Cohen (GRAMMY winner); GRAMMY nominees, Grégoire Maret and Sam Yahel; plus tenor saxophonist, Kelly Jefferson; bassist, George Koller; drummers, Larnell Lewis and Ben Wittman; and more. Hear more about the new release from Biali in the album trailer here.

YOUR REQUESTS, VOLUME 1 TRACKLIST:
1. Bye Bye Blackbird
2. Pennies from Heaven (f. Caity Gyorgy & Don Thompson)
3. My Funny Valentine (f. Kurt Elling)
4. Quiet Nights (Corcovado) (f. Grégoire Maret, TBC)
5. But Not For Me (f. Anat Cohen, TBC)
6. All The Things You Are
7. Blame It On My Youth
8. Autumn Leaves
9. The Nearness of You
10. My Favorite Things (f. Emilie-Claire Barlow)

DOWNLOAD – album cover art | DOWNLOAD – My Funny Valentine single art
DOWNLOAD – hi-res photo

ABOUT 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 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 Award 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 forthcoming 2023 release – Your Requests, Vol. 1 – showcases personal arrangements of jazz classics requested by her followers and features guest vocalists Kurt Elling, Emilie-Claire Barlow, and Caity Gyorgy plus instrumentalists Anat Cohen, Grégoire Maret, tenor saxophonist Kelly Jefferson, bassist George Koller, and drummers Larnell Lewis and Ben Wittman.