Laila Biali at Theatre Raymond Kabbaz

The performance space at Le Lycée Français de Los Angeles, Théâtre Raymond Kabbaz, is pleased to open the 13th season of its public performing arts series on Friday, September 27, 2013 with Laila Biali, the award-winning Canadian jazz pianist, vocalist and songwriter.  Biali is known for taking the best of pop, rock, classical and soul, and informing it with her knowledge of jazz as she weaves together her exquisite musical arrangements.  The event is the Los Angeles stop of Biali’s North American Tour.  This will also be Biali’s Los Angeles debut as a solo performer.  Joining Biali on stage will be Hamilton Price (bass) and Aaron McLendon (drums).  The show will start at 7:45pm.  Tickets are $40 for adults and $30 for students and include an opening reception that starts at 7:00pm.  The Consulate General of Canada in Los Angeles and Le Lycée Français de Los Angeles are hosting the pre show reception.  For details, please see http://www.theatreraymondkabbaz.com/2013/06/11/20132014-season-opening-night-with-laila-biali.   

Award-winning Canadian jazz pianist, vocalist and songwriter Laila Biali has toured with Suzanne Vega, Chris Botti and Paula Cole, as well as recorded with and supported Sting.  Biali’s music has been presented at prestigious venues spanning five continents including the North Sea Jazz Festival, Tokyo’s Cotton Club, Peru’s El Festival Internacional de Lima, and Carnegie Hall in New York City.  Her latest studio recording, Tracing Light, received a JUNO nomination for “2011 Best Vocal Jazz Album of the Year” and her most recent release, Live in Concert, recorded live in February 2012 in front of a gracious audience at the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto, captures the spirit of live performance so essential to jazz.  Live in Concert was in rotation at 73 radio stations in North America.

Biali is also a member of the all female New York-based neo-classical crossover quartet Rose & the Nightingale, whose members tour with Grammy award-winning jazz bassist, cellist and singer Esperanza Spalding.  Biali’s accolades include “SOCAN Composer of the Year” and “Keyboardist of the Year” at Canada’s National Jazz Awards.  She currently splits her time between New York City and Toronto.

Upcoming Biali projects include two new albums slated for release in 2014: a pop-oriented co-production with her husband, Ben Wittman, featuring original songs fitted for a vast range of instruments from gospel choir to brass quartet, theremin and circus calliope; and a new jazz project debuting original material co-written with Ron Sexsmith, Paula Cole, Marc Jordan, and other award-winning songwriters.