Country : Canada Label : Indépendant Genres and styles : Jazz / Jazz Pop Year : 2024

Laila Biali – Wintersongs

· by Frédéric Cardin

Laila Biali’s Wintersongs has all the advantages of a Christmas album, without the disadvantages. The advantages: endearing melodies, arrangements as soft and warm as a well-tended hearth, respect for a style and spirit that remains attractive, despite all the bad things some people say about it. And, of course, it stays away from those (too) well-known mélodies that last for a month or so, maximum.

The voice of the New York-based Canadian is beautiful, very beautiful. It is based above all on lines between jazz and pop, drawn with harmonies that avoid the double-sugar syrup of some albums in the genre.

One exception to the rule of original compositions is ‘Iesous ahatonnia’, a well-known Canadian (Indigenous) traditional whose presence is perfectly understandable and whose airy quality is beautifully deployed in a strictly instrumental version. Also, a short quote from an arch-famous traditional Christmas song in Drifting Down Ice, and that’s about it. As for the instrumentalists who accompany Biali, the line-up is top-notch: Jane Bunnett, George Koller, Ben Wittman, Amal Ahrulanandam (cello), a string quartet, a chamber orchestra made up of solid figures from classical Canada, and so on.

A refined, cuddly but not sleepy, album.

Latest 360 Content

Mundial Montreal | Royal Treatment for Magdala

Mundial Montreal | Royal Treatment for Magdala

Mundial Montréal | Eli Levinson Presents The ENTIRE Program!

Mundial Montréal | Eli Levinson Presents The ENTIRE Program!

Festival Marathon de M pour MTL | Mikey’s Programming Overview

Festival Marathon de M pour MTL | Mikey’s Programming Overview

Tryptique

Tryptique

Peggy Lee & Cole Schmidt – Forever Stories of: Moving Parties

Peggy Lee & Cole Schmidt – Forever Stories of: Moving Parties

Andrew Wells-Oberegger – Déjouer le glas

Andrew Wells-Oberegger – Déjouer le glas

Alfredo Santa Ana – Before the World Sleeps

Alfredo Santa Ana – Before the World Sleeps

BADBADNOTGOOD – Mid Spiral

BADBADNOTGOOD – Mid Spiral

Elisabeth Saint-Gelais – Infini

Elisabeth Saint-Gelais – Infini

Bryn Roberts – Aloft

Bryn Roberts – Aloft

Quatuor Esca – Esca

Quatuor Esca – Esca

Arthur Levering – OceanRiverLake

Arthur Levering – OceanRiverLake

Steven Osborne/London Philharmonic Orchestra, dir.: Edward Gardner – Tippett : Concerto pour piano; Symphonie no 2

Steven Osborne/London Philharmonic Orchestra, dir.: Edward Gardner – Tippett : Concerto pour piano; Symphonie no 2

The inner cinema of composer and sound artist Roxanne Turcotte

The inner cinema of composer and sound artist Roxanne Turcotte

Coup de coeur francophone – Gabriella Olivo + Daria Colonna

Coup de coeur francophone – Gabriella Olivo + Daria Colonna

Guillaume Villeneuve and Quatuor Cobalt’s Reflets du temps

Guillaume Villeneuve and Quatuor Cobalt’s Reflets du temps

N NAO – Pleine Lune

N NAO – Pleine Lune

Coup de cœur francophone | OGB: A Triptych of EPs and A Pair of Jazz Bangereux For a Strong Comeback

Coup de cœur francophone | OGB: A Triptych of EPs and A Pair of Jazz Bangereux For a Strong Comeback

Elisabeth St-Gelais: “Poursuivie par le même rêve” at l’Infini

Elisabeth St-Gelais: “Poursuivie par le même rêve” at l’Infini

Coup de cœur francophone | Sarahmée Ascends The Throne

Coup de cœur francophone | Sarahmée Ascends The Throne

AmyJo Doh & the Spangles – Spangle Landia

AmyJo Doh & the Spangles – Spangle Landia

OSM | Alpine Symphony: When Woods Become Sherpas

OSM | Alpine Symphony: When Woods Become Sherpas

Francis Choinière and OPCM: 10 Seasons And Counting

Francis Choinière and OPCM: 10 Seasons And Counting

SAMWOY – Poison

SAMWOY – Poison

Subscribe to our newsletter