LAILA BIALI ANNOUNCED AS HOST OF NEW CBC RADIO 2 PROGRAM SATURDAY NIGHT JAZZ
SET TO PERFORM AT THE
KENSINGTON MARKET JAZZ FESTIVAL
ON SEPTEMBER 15
Toronto, ON – September 8, 2017 – Multi-award winning Canadian singer, pianist and arranger, Laila Biali, is kicking off the fall season with a bang! After guest hosting CBC Radio 2’s flagship national jazz program, Tonic, for three weeks this summer, Laila has been invited to host the brand new CBC Radio 2 show, Saturday Night Jazz, which will air coast to coast on Radio 2 Saturday Nights from 8:00pm to midnight. The show launches tomorrow evening (Saturday, September 9th).
“I've always been a radio junkie,” comments Laila. “My mom used to have CBC Radio 2 on in the background when we were kids, and my deep love of music was fed by that constant stream of sound. When the CBC invited me to host their new national show, Saturday Night Jazz, I couldn't have been more thrilled!”
Following her inaugural Saturday Night Jazz show, Laila will make her debut appearance at the Kensington Market Jazz Festival, which was launched last year by JUNO award-winning jazz singer, Molly Johnson. The show will take place on Friday, September 15th at the Poetry Jazz Café and will see Laila joined by her long-time bassist, George Koller, and her husband, Ben Wittman, on drums.
Laila Biali has toured with Chris Botti, Paula Cole and Suzanne Vega, recorded with and supported international icon Sting, and was recently featured at the first-ever global TEDSummit. Her accolades include SOCAN Composer of the Year and Keyboardist of the Year at Canada's National Jazz Awards, and last year she was a Premier’s Award nominee for outstanding college graduates.
Laila takes the best of pop, rock, classical, world and soul, informs it with her expertise in jazz, and weaves it into her musical arrangements and original songs. Her studio recording, Tracing Light, received a JUNO nomination in 2011 for Best Vocal Jazz Album of the Year, and her follow-up album, Live in Concert, was given an enthusiastic four-star review and named one of the Best Albums of 2013 by DownBeat Magazine. In 2015, Laila released her first album of entirely original music, House of Many Rooms – an indie-pop project featuring Lisa Fischer (Rolling Stones, 20 Feet From Stardom), Jo Lawry (Sting, Paul Simon), Alan Hampton (Robert Glasper), and the Toronto Mass Choir. Expanding on her unique “ability to meld traditional jazz with contemporary pop so effortlessly that neither style seems out of place on the same record” (Spinner Magazine), Laila is currently set to release a new album of original songs alongside covers of David Bowie, Coldplay and more.
Kensington Market Jazz Festival
Saturday, September 15
Poetry Jazz Cafe
7:30pm
Tickets are available at the door for $32, cash only
www.kensingtonjazz.com
DOWNLOAD – hi-res photo | DOWNLOAD – Kensington Market Jazz Fest poster
