IN CONCERT
What: Laila Biali Trio
Where: Hermann鈥檚 Jazz Club, 753 View St.
When: Saturday, 8 p.m. (doors at 6)
Tickets: Sold out
The transition from New York to Toronto was a difficult one for Laila Biali and her family, but it was a cakewalk compared with the learning curve that resulted from the singer-pianist鈥檚 sudden switch in work environments.
Biali, 37, was chosen last year as a guest host for Tim Tamashiro, longtime radio host of the CBC Radio jazz program Tonic. The radio gig caught the Vancouver-born, Toronto-based Biali completely by surprise. Though she had little radio experience, she was brought in for a series of guest-host slots (alongside fellow Canadian chanteuses Sophie Milman, Shakura S鈥橝ida, Barbra Lica and Diana Panton) while Tamashiro was on holiday. She had no idea until later that it was an audition for one of the most coveted jazz-hosting gigs in the country.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been tricky,鈥� Biali said of Saturday Night Jazz, which airs weekly on CBC Radio 2. 鈥淚 do love it, and I鈥檇 like to plan my life in a way that supports the sustainability of that world, because I do really love it.鈥�
Biali, her husband and son recently moved to Toronto from Brooklyn, where they lived for several years. Compounding the move, Biali must also contend with a very busy career as an artist. Laila Biali, her seventh album, was released Jan. 26 to wide acclaim across North America, eventually hitting No. 1 on the jazz charts in sa国际传媒 and No. 7 in the U.S.
鈥淚t was completely unexpected. I think as musicians, we train ourselves to expect little, because you pour so much into your art. When the babe is born, the world takes hold of it and does with it what it does. You have to stand and watch, and be ready for anything. You brace yourself for what may come.鈥�
Making matters more complicated is the fact that Biali is largely self-managed. She uses a consultant who is also an experienced manager in certain situations, including studio sessions for her new release, but she鈥檚 largely on her own these days. The approach works for Biali, whose career is anything but predictable.
She was commissioned by the CBC somewhat out of the blue to record 2007鈥檚 From Sea to Sky, an album that consisted of songs from the Great Canadian Songbook. She had two albums to her credit at that point, but it was her handling of classic Canadiana that effectively broke her to a wider audience. 鈥淚t put me on the map as a cover artist,鈥� Biali said.
She switched gears on 2014鈥檚 House of Many Rooms, her first album of all-original compositions. Biali said her inaugural attempt at establishing herself as an original artist was a positive move for her musical development, but she went for a more balanced approach on Laila Biali, which embraces both originals and covers.
The album 鈥� which includes jazz-pop versions of Coldplay鈥檚 Yellow, Randy Newman鈥檚 I Think It鈥檚 Going to Rain Today and David Bowie鈥檚 Let鈥檚 Dance 鈥� is a much better representation of her as an artist, Biali said.
鈥淲hether it鈥檚 pop tunes or songs from the Great American Songbook, choosing something that is out there and known, and putting your own stamp on it, that鈥檚 part of the tradition.鈥�
