Canadian Grammy nominee Laila Biali has a steadfast faith

A life in the arts requires faith — a steadfast commitment to one’s path and vision. For Canadian vocalist, pianist and composer Laila Biali, that faith — not just in her music but in God — is resolute. In November 2024, the independent musician released Wintersongs, co-produced with her husband, drummer Ben Wittman. Just days after its one-year anniversary, she received a Grammy nomination for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.

When asked how it feels to be recognized alongside artists like Lady Gaga, Barbra Streisand and Elton John, Biali’s voice ascends in exultation. “The fact that I’ve been nominated alongside these household names, as an independent Canadian artist is already, in my view, in the realm of the miraculous,” she said.

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Despite a prolific career that includes a 2019 Juno Award for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year, hosting the popular CBC 2 radio show Saturday Night Jazz, and working with artists such as Suzanne Vega, Chris Botti, Paula Cole and Sting, Biali credits her higher power for the Grammy nod.

“To me, this can only have come from God — and I don’t mean that to sound high and lofty — but just that He surprises us when we least expect it with these twists and turns in life. And I think it’s our job to stay faithful to Him no matter what comes.”

While living in New York City, the Vancouver-born musician worked as music director for Redeemer Presbyterian Church, founded by late pastor Timothy Keller. Though she doesn’t agree with all the denomination’s views, she holds Keller in deep respect.

“Rocky Mountain Lullaby” from Laila Biali’s Wintersongs

“I still greatly admired him as a teacher, someone who really lives out what he preaches,” she says. “The thing that struck me most about that community was how service oriented they were and not only within New York City.”

Finding fellowship amid a music career has been challenging but she’s made the effort since moving back to Toronto in 2015.

“Because we have lives that bring us away from home so often, it was a bit more difficult to really plug into a community here,” she says of her and Wittman. Biali has been peripherally involved with Little Trinity and FreeChurch Toronto (formerly known as Freedomize), where she has attended worship and made friends.

Wintersongs was largely written in what felt like a “cathedral of trees” on the wooded grounds of the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. During a November residency, Biali worked from a writing cabin in the forest. Seated at a rosewood Steinway grand piano, she gazed through floor-to-ceiling windows, letting the frosty landscape and quiet majesty of the woods guide her. “The snow was softly falling and I just began to play these swirling notes at the piano,” she says.

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The sweeping set of winter-themed songs concludes with “Jesus, He is Born” (Iesous ahatonnia’), a 17th-century carol first attributed to Jean de Brébeuf that most listeners will recognize as “The Huron Carol.” Given the hymn’s complicated history, Biali had extensive conversations with Wendat artist Andrée Lévesque Sioui, who is decolonizing the song by rewriting its verses. Instead of Jesse Middleton’s English lyrics, Biali recorded an instrumental arrangement.

“There are echoes of history, broken and beautiful in that song,” she says. “In that sense, to me, it captures the complexity of the human experience.” She hopes her piece will create space for dialogue.

No matter the outcome on music’s biggest night, Biali is grateful, saying, “Even though it’s only a nomination, it feels like a win.” While her career takes flight, she remains grounded by her faith in her higher power. “I’m just walking really closely with Him, making sure that I’m doing my daily devotions and praying throughout each day.”

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Nancy Dutra is a journalist in Toronto.