Laila Biali's album Out of Dust

The last few years have been a roller-coaster for Laila Biali.

For nearly every major triumph-a highly acclaimed return to jazz, winning the JUNO Award for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year, touring the world-the singer-songwriter has faced private debilitating crises. In just a few short years, Biali lost a close friend to cancer, mourned a family member's suicide, and was diagnosed with two auto-immune disorders that threatened to upend her career. It was a period of change and heartache-but it was also a season of great inspiration and hope. The result is Biali's deeply personal new album, Out of Dust.

"These new songs took shape as I processed my own feelings of doubt and loss," Biali reveals. "I believe that nothing is wasted, that even life's greatest challenges can produce something meaningful, even if only to make us more aware of and empathetic to the struggles of those around us."

This hard-won optimism is apparent in the music. Instead of giving into the darkness, Out of Dustfinds Biali luxuriating in the light she found at the end of the tunnel. Co-produced by Biali and her husband, Ben Wittman, the album is a celebration of life; warm and uplifting even as it confronts her recent challenges (and the current political climate!) head-on.

The political is personal on the brassy album opener, "Revival." Transforming global tumult into an inspiring call-to-arms, she sings with the clear-eyed confidence of a warrior, "There's a fire underground / C'mon on down." This fervor animates the entire album, even its quieter, more personal moments: "Wendy's Song," a piano ballad dedicated to the friend she lost to cancer, turns the details of a single life into a powerful epic; "Glass House," which she wrote with her husband, frankly addresses the after-effects of a family member's suicide; "Take the Day Off," a lullaby written with her nine-year-old son, bluntly acknowledges the reality of healing with Biali singing that it's OK to "pull the sheets over your head" and "unwind" when you need to.

In addition to contributions from Biali's husband and son, Out of Dustfeatures multiple GRAMMY nominees and winners including Lisa Fisher, Alan Ferber, John Ellis, and Larnell Lewis.

"There's a line from a song by the indie gospel group, Gungor, that has become like an anthem to me," Biali says. "‘He makes beautiful things out of dust.' That's where the title for the album comes from, and as a songwriter and musician, my ultimate intention and hope is to spread a little more love."

Laila Biali's album Out of Dust will be released Friday, March 27, 2020.