Our Zoom-based Medicine Hat JazzFest event is designed to recreate the intimacy this festival is known for. Participants will be able to interact with each other and the artists. We will have featured guests and a Q&R with the artists and we encourage participants to dress up, order some takeout and beverages from their favorite places and enjoy an evening of music and interaction. We are thrilled to be presenting two fabulous groups who have been JazzFest favourites.

There is no charge for this on-line concert. Donations will be received to help with the costs of the presentation.

Laila Biali 

Multi award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter, pianist and CBC Music national radio host Laila 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, and supported international icon Sting. In 2020, Laila was honoured by SOCAN Music with the Hagood Hardy Award for Excellence in Songwriting. In 2019, Laila’s eponymous release won her a JUNO for “Vocal Jazz Album of the Year.” The year prior, she was awarded top prize at the Canadian Songwriting Competition in the Jazz category. Laila was also the youngest-ever double winner at Canada’s National Jazz Awards when she was named “SOCAN Composer of the Year” and “Keyboardist of the Year.” She received her first JUNO nomination for Tracing Light (2011), and a spot on DownBeat Magazine’s “Best Albums of the Year” for Live in Concert (2013) and Out of Dust (2020). In September of 2017, Laila was brought on as the host for CBC Music’s national radio show, Saturday Night Jazz, a weekly show broadcast to listeners across Canada. While Laila continues to earn high honours in the Jazz world, her signature sound transcends genre as she “masterfully mixes jazz and pop, bringing virtuosity and unpredictability to songs that are concise and catchy” (Washington Post). Laila’s highly anticipated album, Out of Dust, which features multiple GRAMMY nominees and winners including Lisa Fischer, Alan Ferber, John Ellis, and Larnell Lewis, released March 27, 2020 and was also nominated for a 2021 JUNO Award.

• Laila Biali – vocals, piano
• Ben Wittman – drums
• George Koller – bass
• Larnell Lewis – drums
• Rich Brown – bass
• Rob Christian – saxophones/flute

Horn section (The Baker’s Daughter): 

William Sperandei, Alison Young, William Carn

Background vocals (Broken Vessels): 

Joanna Majoko, Michelle Willis, Francois Mulder

The Heavyweights Brass Band 

The Heavyweights Brass Band hits hard with its seasoned blend of groove, energy, virtuosity, and originality! For over a decade, this Toronto-based, New Orleans-inspired brass institution has brought theatre-goers to their feet and club-goers to the dance floor with an inspiring blend of original music and unexpected covers. The decision is in and audience members across North America unanimously give the win to HWBB in a knockout!

Their music has been featured on film, commercials, radio, and television and they have performed and recorded with the best in the game from percussion legend Giovanni Hidalgo to NOLA legends Roger Lewis of the Dirty Dozen Brass band and Joe Lastie of Preservation Hall fame. Their extensive touring experience has given them the opportunity to share the stage with the likes of Trombone Shorty, The Roots, and The Soul Rebels, among many others.

In a genre typically represented by groups twice its size, this powerhouse quintet punches above its weight and always delivers the feel-good, let-loose energy that leaves audiences clamouring for one more song!

Their Co-Jazz performance is a collection of recordings made as they have been busking in the rail path area of Toronto over the summer.

• John Pittman – trumpet
• Paul Metcalfe – saxophone
• RJ Satchithananthan – trombone
• Tom Richards – tuba
• Lowell Whitty – drums