Improv Exchange Podcast

Author: Leander Young

Keeping up with the Jazz world, Leander Young, carries out authentic conversions with and about musicians. Make sure to subscribe, leave a comment, and rating. Connect with us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @improvexchange #improvexchange www.improvexchange.com
Be a guest on this podcast

Language: en

Genres: Music, Music Commentary, Music Interviews

Contact email: Get it

Feed URL: Get it

iTunes ID: Get it

Get all podcast data

Listen Now...

Episode #181: Lalia Biali
Episode 181
Sunday, 8 March, 2026

Multi award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter, pianist, CBC Music national radio host and 2026 GRAMMY Award nominee 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 JUNO-nominated 2023 album, Your Requests, featured a stellar cast of guests and received a 4.5 star rave review in All About Jazz. Her previous release, Out of Dust, was also JUNO nominated (in 2021) and won Laila spots on “Best Album” lists around the globe. In 2020, Laila was honoured by SOCAN Music with the Hagood Hardy Award for Excellence in Songwriting. The previous year, Laila’s eponymous release won her a JUNO for “Vocal Jazz Album of the Year” and top prize at the Canadian Songwriting Competition in the Jazz category. Laila was 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”, and she received her first JUNO nomination for Tracing Light in 2011. When Laila isn’t on stage or in the studio, she’s busy hosting CBC Music’s national radio show, Saturday Night Jazz – a weekly program broadcast to millions of listeners across Canada. And while she continues to earn high honours in the jazz world, Laila’s signature sound transcends genre – “masterfully mixes jazz and pop, bringing virtuosity and unpredictability to songs that are concise and catchy” (Washington Post). Her highly anticipated seasonal album, Wintersongs, was nominated for a 2025 JUNO Award and a 2026 GRAMMY alongside heavyweights Lady Gaga, Barbra Streisand, Elton John & Brandi Carlile, Jennifer Hudson and Laufey.