Alexis Baró is the 2026 recipient of the Toronto Arts Foundation’s Muriel Sherrin Award.
The awards were given out earlier today (April 28) during the The Mayor’s Arts Lunch Gala in Toronto. Created in memory of Muriel Sherrin, producer of Toronto International Festival of Music and Dance, the award celebrates artists or creators who have made an outstanding contribution to the city’s performing arts landscape. Baró will receive a cash prize of $10,000.
Cuban-born Baró has been based in Toronto since 2001 and has released eight solo albums and participated in over 200 studio recordings. He has worked with the likes of Herbie Hancock, Paquito D’Rivera, Michael Bublé, David Rudder and Dee Dee Bridgewater. In 2025, Baró released his first big band albumAlexis Baro Y La Big Band’s Afrokando, which was nominated for a 2026 JUNO award for Jazz Album of the Year (Group).
Backed by 19-piece orchestra featuring some of Canada’s top jazz and Latin musicians, Afrokando pays tribute to the golden era of Cuban Big Band of the 1940s and 1950s while being deeply rooted in Afro-Caribbean traditions, serving as both a love letter and celebration of Afro-Cuban identity. He spoke with Laura Fernandez about the album in-depth during a recent episode of Café Latino (full interview linked below).
The other finalists of the Muriel Sherrien Award include vocalist and songwriter Densil McFarlane Jr. and Chinese-Canadian composer Alice Ping Yee Ho, who will receive a $1,000 cash prize.
The Mayor’s Arts Lunch Gala, now in its 21st year, gathers together artists, cultural leaders, arts philanthropists, key business and civic leaders, and politicians from all levels of government to celebrate and spotlight the artists and arts organizations whose work shapes. The gala is the signature event of the Toronto Arts Foundation.
You can catch Alexis Baró at Glenn Gould Studios on April 30 for a special big band performance of Afrokando in celebration of International Jazz Day.