Percussionist Roshane Wright is the winner of the Toronto Arts Foundation’s 2025 Breakthrough Jazz Artist Award!
Generously supported by Michael Bourgeois and Marilyn Legge, the award is presented to an outstanding jazz artist based in Toronto with two to seven years experience in the field as solo artist and/or artists who have supported other artists in the field. It comes with a $10,000 cash prize to help further the artist’s career.
The winner was announced Tuesday night at the OLG Village Stage during the Toronto Jazz Festival.
Known for his incredible blend of Caribbean flavours mixed with jazz, Roshane Wright, a composer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist and educator originally from Jamaica who now calls Toronto home. He’s a two-time JUNO Award-winning percussionist and bandleader of Rosh Riddims. Roshane has worked with artists such as Kirk Diamond, Joy Lapps, and Larnell Lewis and is set to release his debut album, Yaad to Abroad, later this year.
The other finalists, Robert Lee (Upright Bassist) and Anh Phung (Flutist), received a $2,000 cash prize.
The Toronto Arts Foundation is Toronto’s charity for the arts with a focus on bringing the arts to communities across the city through programs, initiatives, awards and grants. The award was established in 2014 and was previously called the Emerging Jazz Artist Award. As of 2024, the award was renamed as the Breakthrough Jazz Artist Award in recognition of the fact that many artists embark on a career in Jazz at various points in their life, not always defined by age. Previous recipients include Larnell Lewis (2017), Joanna Majoko (2021), Kae Murphy (2023) and Dánae Olano (2024). The Breakthrough Jazz Artist Award is presented every year at the Toronto Jazz Festival.
Nominations for the 2026 Breakthrough Jazz Artist Award opens later this fall.