When Laila Biali’s fellow jazz musicians heard about her Grammy nomination, along with congratulations, they offered their condolences.
That’s because the 45-year-old Vancouver native is up for best traditional pop vocal album, even though she submitted her “Wintersongs” album in a jazz category.
“It’s crazy,” Biali said of her nomination, noting she’ll compete with artists including Jennifer Hudson, Elton John and Lady Gaga. She said she learned about the category change the day the first voting period opened.
“My initial reaction was one of shock. It was complete overwhelm. Full body, full mind, full spirit overwhelm. And then it was trepidation, and then joy,” she said in an interview from her home in Toronto on Monday.
Biali said her jazz colleagues’ reaction was in response to the super-competitive category, but that the pop label ultimately makes sense for “Wintersongs,” a collection of songs inspired by Canadian winters.
“I think there are elements of jazz in the writing and in the expression of that music, but ultimately traditional pop feels like the right bucket to put it in,” she said.
Recording the album was a three-year odyssey that involved a cabin in the woods, a star composer, a string quartet, and a concussion.
Biali said the album is an ode to winter, first conceived during a residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Banff, Alta.
“It is quintessentially Canadian,” she said.
Settling in to write the album from a cosy cabin, Biali said she alternated between donning her parka and ice cleats to draw inspiration from Banff’s chilly winter scenes, or stayed indoors, cocooned away from the season’s grasp.
“I’ve always felt like winter is a shape-shifter, and I tried to capture that in this album,” she said.
The feeling of being one with nature inspired songs like “Dance of the Pines,” which imagines the soundtrack created by the branches and “creaking trunks” of evergreens in the forest.
Album opener “Drifting Down Ice” started on the piano, as Biali tried to capture the sound of snow falling in a process she described as “painting with music.”
One of the harder songs to complete was “Snow,” which Biali recorded as she worked through a vocal issue after a concussion.
“There’s a vulnerability to it, I think because I’m not in perfect voice as I’m singing it. There are some cracks, and to quote Leonard Cohen, ‘That’s where the light comes in,'” she said.
Biali originally imagined “Wintersongs” with only a string quartet, but ended up collaborating with American arranger and composer Rob Mathes, who has worked with artists including Sting and Bruce Springsteen.
A 20-piece orchestra helped record the album in Toronto. After its release in 2024, “Wintersongs” scored a nomination for vocal jazz album of the year at the 2025 Juno Awards.
The international recognition for a mid-career Canadian artist — and an independent one at that — has Biali feeling grateful, despite the sometimes rocky road that led to her Grammy nomination.
“You feel like a tree falling in the woods,” Biali said of her career journey. “So I almost gave up before I even started.”
Biali said the album’s Canadian-ness and her lack of backing from a major label should have worked against her — but instead may have contributed to her success.
“I don’t create music for the accolades. I don’t know anybody who does. It’s for the art. It’s the connection that we are trying to build with our listeners and other people in the world,” Biali said.
But she added the Grammy nomination is still “life-giving,” especially following career challenges from the pandemic, motherhood, and her concussion.
Biali plans to attend the Feb. 1 Grammy ceremony in Los Angeles with her 15-year-old son and husband Ben Wittman, who co-produced the album.
“I’m just so honoured to represent Canada in this moment,” she said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 23, 2026.
Marissa Birnie, The Canadian Press
