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Juno-winner Laila Biali eager to be back on stage with Aeolian tour stop

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It wasn’t quite the way Laila Biali planned to introduce her new music.

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But better late than never as Biali comes to London’s Aeolian Hall Friday on her first tour since the pandemic began, sharing Out of Dust, her Juno-nominated 2020 album that has received rave review but not a lot of live applause.

“It’s wonderful,” said Biali of her mini-tour that began the third week of August and has carried her to live shows in Ontario and will eventually in British Columbia and Quebec.

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“When you create new music and haven’t played it live for people, you’re kind of in a little bubble because you don’t know how it’s going to impact people. But since I’ve been playing live and meeting people again, it seems one song or another has moved them. So, it was beautiful for people to hear them. These are things I’ve been starving for. That’s what we do as musicians.”

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Biali’s 8 p.m. show, now sold out, is one of several in TD Sunfest’s concert series this fall.

Also coming to Aeolian is Cuban-Canadian trumpeter and composer Alexis Baro’s Jazz Quintet on Oct. 23.

In November, Sunfest will present two concerts at the London Music Hall — one of the festival’s most popular bands, Five Alarm Funk, on Nov. 5, followed by Montreal’s 12-piece multicultural orchestra Lengaïa Salsa Brava Nov. 19.

To attend the concerts, you must be fully vaccinated, wear a mask and maintain social distancing.

Biali’s album — with all songs written and arranged by Biali (except for Take Me to the Alley) and co-produced with her husband, drummer Ben Wittman — was released during the pandemic, preventing a promotional tour, although Biali did have a chance for a short pre-release tour of Western Canada before the lockdown.

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The London stop has the potential to be historic, at least for the Biali family. Their 11-year-old son Joshua played the tongue drum (which produces a bell-like tone) on Take the Day Off, from the new album and might make his stage debut.

“He might,” said Biali with emphasis on the “might.”

“London is so close we’ll be bringing him with us and we’ll see if he’s up for it.”

While some songs from the album were inspired by the loss of loved ones, Biali said the songs “don’t leave people in a place of darkness or with no hope.”

“The songs move into a place of hope, to a better place than where they started.”

Biali was last here in 2019 for the Juno Awards, where she won jazz album of the year for 2018’s self-titled offering — lauded equally for its original tunes, such as Refugee, Dolores Angel and Queen of Hearts, as for her interpretations of Cold Play’s Yellow and David Bowie’s Let’s Dance.

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It also firmly established her as an artist who defies being boxed in by any one genre, her fusion of jazz and pop refreshing, if not inspiring.

When the country was in lockdown, Biali did offer a few virtual performances but admits “it was so strange sharing songs from my living room” from where she has also continued to feed jazz lovers with music as host of CBC’s Radio’s weekly Saturday Night Jazz.

Biali has headlined festivals and venues spanning five continents, including Carnegie Hall, toured with the likes of Chris Botti, Paula Cole, Suzanne Vega and Sting, and has won SOCAN composer of the year and keyboardist of the year.

Biali did manage to perform a few dates in Ontario and B.C. during the pandemic when conditions permitted gatherings, and she’s hoping the public will continue to support the government’s battle with COVID-19 through vaccines, masks and other protocols.

“Now, we’re doing everything we can to reopen safely and keep the businesses, especially venues, open so everyone can return to their livelihoods and get back to work again,” Biali said.

jbelanger@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/JoeBatLFPress

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