"How about a little holiday roleplay? It’s Christmas Eve and you’re the host of a cozy holiday shindig. The tree is worthy of a photoshoot with Better Homes & Gardens, your famous peppermint bark is served, and you find yourself in the cutest Mrs. Claus outfit with a cheeky glass of red.  

 

“Now,” you ask yourself, “what’s the perfect soundtrack for this perfect night?”

 

With that, may I recommend Laila Biali’s Wintersongs. It’s her ode to Canadian winters featuring a 20-piece chamber orchestra and 9 thematic-songs, including “Snow,” “Winter Waltz,” and “Dance of the Pines.”

 

 

In my recent interview with Laila, she told me that "Rocky Mountain Lullaby" is one of her favourites and it’s one of mine too. Her voice is so gentle and sweet, just as her fingers are on the keys, and the note she hits at the :30 mark made the hair on my arms stand up! It’s a truly breathtaking song.

 

Most of the tracks on this album are originals, but Laila slips in at the end with her special arrangement of Canada’s oldest Christmas song. “Jesus, He is Born” was most likely written in 1642 by a Jesuit missionary in Sainte-Marie among the Hurons. Shout out to the horn section on this one.

Wintersongs has been nominated for a Grammy for “Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.” So, when you play it at that imaginary holiday shindig (or a real one), it’s a holiday pleaser and a future Canadian classic, in my humble opinion. Watch for Laila on the Grammy Red Carpet on February 1st!"