Laila Biali already has beach walks planned.
The multi-award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter, pianist and CBC Music national radio host hopes to squeeze them in — along with a little sun — before or after her Friday, Jan. 16 performance at the Carrollwood Cultural Center. Biali admits she hasn’t visited the Tampa area in years. But she’s glad to be back for the beaches and warm weather and to perform songs from “Joni Mitchell & The 70s Songwriters” at the center.
She’s also fresh off her first Grammy nomination.
“As they say, you could have knocked us over with a feather,” Biali told the Beacon about the nomination. “It was a complete surprise. When we switched my album, ‘Wintersongs,’ from Alternative Jazz to Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album, the others in that category are Lady Gaga, Elton John, Ben Folds, even Jeff Goldblum and the list went on and on and I thought there was no way I could break through. But on Nov. 7 when we found out, I was overjoyed.
“I’m excited to come back to Florida,” she added. “It’s been some years since I’ve been to Tampa, but this mini tour, the anchor date was in Fort Myers, but expanded it to Carrollwood and Miami. So, I do hope to get some beach walks in (laughs).”
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. She also has supported international icon Sting. In 2020, Laila was honored by SOCAN Music with the Hagood Hardy Award for Excellence in Songwriting.
In 2019, Biali’s eponymous release won her a Juno (Canada’s Grammy) for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year. The year prior, she won top prize at the Canadian Songwriting Competition in the Jazz category. She was also the youngest-ever double winner at Canada’s National Jazz Awards, named both the SOCAN Composer of the Year and Keyboardist of the Year.
She received her first Juno nomination for Tracing Light (2011) and earned spots on DownBeat Magazine’s Best Albums of the Year for “Live in Concert” (2013) and “Out of Dust” (2020). In 2017, CBC Music brought her on as host of “Saturday Night Jazz,” a weekly national radio show broadcast across Canada.
Her album “Out of Dust” featured multiple Grammy nominees and winners, including Lisa Fischer, Alan Ferber, John Ellis, and Larnell Lewis, and was also nominated for a Juno Award.
At her Carrollwood show, Biali will work with local Tampa musicians Paul Gavin on drums and Brandon Robertson on bass.
Being Canadian, she realizes she is actually well known in Florida thanks to snowbirds and former Canadian residents who settled here permanently.
“I have heard from a few people who are super excited to see me because they are, in fact, snowbirds,” Biali said. “And that really delighted me. Honestly, I have no idea what the audience (at Carrollwood Cultural Center) will be like. I know it will feature some people who have reached out directly to me, but other than that I’m just very excited to be playing (in Carrollwood).”
This mini tour will occupy Biali’s time until Feb. 1, when the Grammy Awards Ceremony will be held in Los Angeles. She’ll walk the red carpet with her husband, fellow musician Ben Whitman, and her 15-year-old son.
“It’s a whole different scene I’m learning all about, from parties and mixes and the different Grammy chapters all over the country,” Biali added. “It’s something that’s been very exciting, and really, I’m just happy to perform when I can before the Grammys.”