MAKES RETURN TO THE GREAT AMERICAN SONGBOOK
WITH NEW ALBUM YOUR REQUESTS ARRIVING MAY 26

SPECIAL PRE-RELEASE CONCERT IN CELEBRATION OF THE ALBUM APRIL 23 AS PART OF THE COLLEGE STREET JAZZ FESTIVAL - GET TICKETS HERE

ON TOUR THROUGH SPRING AND SUMMER
INCLUDING CANADIAN DATES WITH THE OSTARA PROJECT

TORONTO, ON – April 19, 2023 – Laila Biali is here to chase the clouds away with the enchanting music video for her latest single, Pennies From Heaven! Following the song’s Friday release, Biali is thrilled to share its companion visual, showcasing performances by the talented roster of artists that feature on the track. Watch Pennies From Heaven here today, and stream/share the song here.

Biali is joined by JUNO Award-winning jazz artist, Caity Gyorgy, who shares the vocal work on Pennies From Heaven, making for a bubbly and beguiling duo take of the classic jazz standard. Michael Davidson's vibraphone and Kelly Jefferson's tenor sax add wonderfully to the sophisticated sonic landscape, making it the perfect soundtrack for spring whether you're relaxing with your morning coffee or enjoying a leisurely nightcap.

“The arrangement idea for Pennies from Heaven first came to me when I was on a plane, en route to a show,” reflects Biali. “Enjoying the aerial view of fluffy white clouds, I first heard the bassline doubled by my left-hand piano part – the band cruising along with the melody floating overtop. Caity Gyorgy was the perfect voice to bring even more levity and momentum. She's an effortless improviser, and I love the interplay of her scat with the vibes and sax. As the saying goes, ‘spring showers bring May flowers,’ and that's the feeling I hope people get as they listen.”

Of the video, she adds: “When Caity came over to film the video for Pennies from Heaven together, it was straight after the 2023 JUNO Awards nominee press conference where she received a nomination. It was fun to experience some of her excitement in that moment and even more fun to see her take home the JUNO Award for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year – for the second year in a row – last month!” 

The song is the latest release from Biali’s new album, Your Requests, which is set for release on May 26^th and sees the multi-award-winning vocalist, pianist and arranger return to the Great American Songbook for the first time in more than 10 years. Widely recognized for her original material, this shift back to the classic jazz repertoire was prompted by Biali’s delight in fulfilling the song requests by 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. The album debuts a collection of Laila’s dynamic and personal arrangements in response to her listeners, which she describes as a musical love letter to them. Pre-save Your Requests here.

Fans will get a special live preview of the songs found on Your Requests this weekend, when Biali performs at the College Street Jazz Festival on Sunday, April 23. Tickets are available here, and Biali will be back on the road through the spring and summer with tour dates in Europe, followed by a run of Canadian shows with jazz supergroup, The Ostara Project. See below for a full list of dates where you can catch Laila Biali live, and stay tuned for more to come from Your Requests!

UPCOMING PERFORMANCES:
April 23 – Toronto, ON – College Street Jazz Festival
May 25 – Bremen, DE – KITO
May 26 – Cologne, DE – Salon de Jazz
May 27 – Stuttgart, DE – BIX Jazzclub
May 28 – Berlin, DE – Jazz Club A-Trane
May 29 – Bad Meinberg, DE – Red Horn District
May 31 – Paris, FR – Sunset Sunside
June 1 – London, UK – Ronnie Scott’s
June 17 – Woodstock, GA – Elm Street Arts Village
June 22 – Winnipeg, MB – Winnipeg Jazz Festival *
June 23 – Medicine Hat, AB – Medicine Hat Jazz Festival *
June 24 – Vancouver, BC – Vancouver Jazz Festival *
June 27 – Ottawa, ON – Ottawa Jazz Festival *
June 28 – Toronto, ON – Toronto Jazz Festival *
June 30 – Saskatoon, SK – Saskatoon Jazz Festival *
July 1 – Edmonton, AB – Edmonton Jazz Festival *
July 7 – Montreal, QC – Montreal Jazz Festival *
July 15 – Niagara, ON - Niagara Jazz Festival *
*with The Ostara Project

DOWNLOAD – album cover art
DOWNLOAD – Pennies From Heaven 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 – 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.