LISTEN HERE AND WATCH THE MUSIC VIDEO HERE
 
WINTERSONGS & HOLIDAY CLASSICS TOUR 
UNDERWAY NOW

DATES IN VICTORIA AND OTTAWA
TO FEATURE PERFORMANCES FROM LOCAL YOUTH CHOIRS

TORONTO, ON – December 11, 2023 – After unveiling two brand new original holiday songs - Belle nuit de Noël and Four Sundays to Christmas - award-winning musician, Laila Biali, welcomes one more song in her seasonal trifecta: Joy To The World. Featuring members of the Toronto Mass Choir, Biali's jubilant rendition of the holiday classic shines with its goosebump-inducing orchestral arrangements and stunning vocal performances. Listen to Biali's Joy To The World here and watch the accompanying performance video here. 

"For me, Joy to the World is the sound of Christmas – hope awakened and hope answered," Biali reflects. "That's why it was so special to incorporate members of the Toronto Mass Choir. They bring the sound of a host of voices joined together in joyful exultation. The more understated ending to this arrangement is meant to signify the complexity we might feel in a broken world where we still dare to hope. But, to quote Leonard Cohen, 'ring the bells that still can ring'." 

Biali has been dazzling audiences across Canada while on her Wintersongs & Holiday Classics tour, which kicked off November 30 and has saw sold out shows in Chester, NS, Hamilton, ON and Lakefield, ON. The tour now heads west, starting with tomorrow's sold out show in Saskatoon, SK and followed by stops in Manitoba and BC, before wrapping on December 20 at Ottawa's National Arts Centre. Biali's Wintersongs suite and familiar holiday fare will all be brought to life by a virtuosic band, as well as children's choirs in Victoria, BC (Victoria Children's Choir) and Ottawa (Nepean High School's music students). See below for full details on all upcoming performances. 

WINTERSONGS & HOLIDAY CLASSICS TOUR:
December 12 – Saskatoon, SK – The Bassment (SOLD OUT)
December 13 – Winnipeg, MB – Crescent Fort Rouge United Church
December 15 – Victoria, BC – McPherson Playhouse
December 16 – Port Moody, BC – Inlet Theatre 
December 20 – Ottawa, ON – National Arts Centre, Azrieli Studio

DOWNLOAD – single artwork | 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 latest release – 2023's, 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.

"Biali's voice – spanning registers – is pure and warm. She's also fearless on piano and, above else, in her imagination” – DownBeat Magazine
 
“Masterfully mixes jazz and pop, bringing virtuosity and unpredictability to songs that are concise and catchy” – The Washington Post

"There's no boxing Laila Biali in ... Capable of making you laugh and cry
all at once” – All About Jazz
 
“A keyboard virtuoso with a distinctive sultry voice - intimate
and emotional” – Toronto Star

“Accomplished and brave ... a gifted player and natural risk taker” – Exclaim!