Sharif's album Basis of Unity is the first recipient of the FACTOR-partnered award that recognizes an album of exceptional artistic achievement from Western and Northern Canada. The award was presented at BreakOut West in Victoria this weekend (Oct. 3).
Jairus Sharif has won the first-ever Meridian Prize.
This weekend, the Calgary experimental jazz musician was awarded the inaugural Meridian Prize for his 2025 album Basis of Unity at BreakOut West festival and conference in Victoria, British Columbia. The brand new prize was introduced this year to recognize an album of exceptional artistic achievement from Western and Northern Canada, serving a similar role as the Polaris Music Prize. In addition to a trophy, Sharif also receives a $5,000 honorarium.
"This is an important document for me and I'm grateful for all the meaningful feedback I've gotten over the past year and change. Thanks for listening. Thanks for lettin' me know. Thanks very much [to BreakOut West and the Meridian Prize]! I appreciate the recognition," he wrote in an Instagram post celebrating his victory. He also gave a nod to the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, The Canada Council and FACTOR, who presented the award, in his caption for supporting the creation of the record.
"Jairus has made an album of extraordinary singularity. It is deeply ambitious and holds an immense sense of purpose," says Michael Dawson, executive director of the Meridian Prize. “With that said, the amount of talent, vision and creativity encapsulated in all 10 nominated albums is truly profound. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all of the nominees for their phenomenal work and for allowing their records to stand for the prize. I would be remiss if I didn’t also extend a heartfelt thank you to the jurors for their commitment, care, and thoughtful consideration throughout the process. Their dedication to listening, willingness to engage openly, and championing of exceptional artistry is at the heart of The Meridian Prize."
The Meridian Prize is selected by an independent jury of music personnel comprised of festival and radio programmers, independent record store staff, culture critics and curators and "celebrates works of clarity, depth, originality and integrity, honouring albums that stand as complete creative statements and mark a defining moment in an artist's practice."
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This year's other nominated works included records by Winnipeg singer-songwriter Begonia, Regina indie folk band Foxwarren and queer and Indigenous singer Fontine, who hails from Winnipeg (find all the nominated albums here). While they didn't take home the brand-new prize, they emerged victorious at this year's Western Canadian Music Awards, which also took place during this year's edition of BreakOut West. This year's festival and conference also included artist showcases at the BreakOut West festival and the launch of OutStanding Music, a new national organization dedicated to uplifting 2SLGBTQIA+ voices in the Canadian music industry.
Released in February 2025, Basis of Unity follows Sharif's full-length 2022 debut Water & Tools, which was featured on the long list for the 2023 Polaris Music Prize. The deeply personal, five-track record is centred around themes of grief, mortality and healing and highlights Sharif's free-spirited approach to music, an experimental combination of free jazz, ambient, hip-hop and electronic influences that can hardly be confined to one genre.
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"This is a celebration," Sharif says of the LP. "Even though there’s so much intensity in a grieving process, this is a way to celebrate the triumph of making it through."
Fresh off his victory and a recent performance at the 2026 edition of POP Montreal in September, Sharif is currently on the road as an opening act for fellow Calgary native Chad VanGaalen, who is touring as his solo project Full Moon Bummer and playing six cities in British Columbia.
It's a bittersweet victory, as Telephone Explosion, the landmark Toronto independent label that released Basis of Unity, announced today that it is winding down after two decades.
