Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album

The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album (previously: Best Pop Instrumental Album) is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality instrumental albums in the pop music genre. Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position".

The award was first presented to Joe Jackson in 2001. According to the category description guide for the 52nd Grammy Awards, the award is presented to albums containing "at least 51% playing time of newly recorded pop instrumental tracks". As of 2025, Larry Carlton, Taylor Eigsti, Béla Fleck, Booker T. Jones, Edgar Meyer and Snarky Puppy are the only musicians to receive the award more than once. (Snarky Puppy has had the most wins, with 4.) Gerald Albright has received the most nominations, with six.

The award goes to the artist, producer and engineer/mixer of more than 50% of playing time on the winning album. A producer or engineer/mixer who worked on less than 50% of playing time, as well as the mastering engineer, can apply for a Winners Certificate.

In 2015, the category was renamed Best Contemporary Instrumental Album and moved from the Pop category field to the Contemporary category field. The category description did not change.

Recipients

right|upright|thumb|[[Joe Jackson (musician)|Joe Jackson was the first recipient of the award in 2001.]]

right|upright|thumb|alt=A man in a multi-colored dress shirt with a black guitar strapped around his neck.|[[44th Grammy Awards|2002 award winner, Steve Lukather]]

right|upright|thumb|alt=A man in a gray shirt with his eyes closed and a black guitar strapped around his neck.|[[49th Grammy Awards|2007 award winner, Peter Frampton]]

right|upright|thumb|alt=A man wearing a dress shirt and glasses, playing a banjo. A light is shining down on him from above, casting a blue shade over him.|[[Béla Fleck of the 2009 award-winning group, Béla Fleck and the Flecktones]]

right|upright|thumb|Two-time winner [[Larry Carlton]]

right|upright|thumb|alt=A man wearing a black hat and jacket.|[[52nd Grammy Awards|2010 award winner, Booker T. Jones]]

right|upright|thumb|Four-time winners [[Snarky Puppy]]

2000s

{| class="wikitable"

|- bgcolor="#bebebe"

! width="10%" | Year

! width="45%" | Work

! width="45%" | Artist

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=5, style="text-align:center;"|2001<br />

| Symphony No. 1

| Joe Jackson

|-

| Audio

| Blue Man Group

|-

| Faith: A Holiday Album

| Kenny G

|-

| Hymns in the Garden

| Kirk Whalum

|-

| Pieces in a Modern Style

| William Orbit

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=5, style="text-align:center;"|2002<br />

| No Substitutions: Live in Osaka

| Larry Carlton and Steve Lukather

|-

| AArt

| Acoustic Alchemy

|-

| A Smooth Jazz Christmas

| Dave Koz and Friends

|-

| Unconditional

| Kirk Whalum

|-

| Voice

| Neal Schon

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=5, style="text-align:center;"|2003<br />

| Just Chillin

| Norman Brown

|-

| The Christmas Message

| Kirk Whalum

|-

| Paradise

| Kenny G

|-

| The Power of Love

| John Tesh

|-

| Ride

| Boney James

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=5, style="text-align:center;"|2004<br />

| Mambo Sinuendo

| Ry Cooder and Manuel Galban

|-

| N.E.W.S

| Prince

|-

| Night Divides the Day – The Music of the Doors

| George Winston

|-

| Peace

| Jim Brickman

|-

| Wishes: A Holiday Album

| Kenny G

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=5, style="text-align:center;"|2005<br />

| Henry Mancini: Pink Guitar

| Various Artists

|-

| EP 2003: Music for the Epicurean Harkener

| Mason Williams

|-

| Forever, for Always, for Luther

| Various Artists

|-

| Pure

| Boney James

|-

| Saxophonic

| Dave Koz

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=5, style="text-align:center;"|2006<br />

| At This Time

| Burt Bacharach

|-

| Belladonna

| Daniel Lanois

|-

| Bloom

| Eric Johnson

|-

| Flipside

| Jeff Lorber

|-

| Naked Guitar

| Earl Klugh

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=5, style="text-align:center;"|2007<br />

| Fingerprints

| Peter Frampton

|-

| Fire Wire

| Larry Carlton

|-

| New Beginnings

| Gerald Albright

|-

| Wrapped in a Dream

| Spyro Gyra

|-

| X

| Fourplay

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=5, style="text-align:center;"|2008<br />

| The Mix-Up

| Beastie Boys

|-

| At the Movies

| Dave Koz

|-

| Good to Go-Go

| Spyro Gyra

|-

| Italia

| Chris Botti

|-

| Roundtrip

| Kirk Whalum

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=5, style="text-align:center;"|2009<br />

| Jingle All the Way

| Béla Fleck and the Flecktones

|-

| Greatest Hits Rerecorded, Volume One

| Larry Carlton

|-

| A Night Before Christmas

| Spyro Gyra

|-

| Sax for Stax

| Gerald Albright

|-

| The Spice of Life

| Earl Klugh

|-

|}

2010s

{| class="wikitable"

|- bgcolor="#bebebe"

! width="10%" | Year

! width="45%" | Work

! width="45%" | Artist

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=5, style="text-align:center;"|2010<br />

| Potato Hole

| Booker T. Jones

|-

| In Boston

| Chris Botti

|-

| Down the Wire

| Spyro Gyra

|-

| Legacy

| Hiroshima

|-

| Modern Art

| The Rippingtons featuring Russ Freeman

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=5, style="text-align:center;"|2011<br />

| Take Your Pick

| Larry Carlton and Tak Matsumoto

|-

| Everything Is Everything: The Music of Donny Hathaway

| Kirk Whalum

|-

| Heart and Soul

| Kenny G

|-

| Pushing the Envelope

| Gerald Albright

|-

| Singularity

| Robby Krieger

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=5, style="text-align:center;"|2012<br />

| The Road from Memphis

| Booker T. Jones

|-

| E Kahe Malie

| Daniel Ho

|-

| Hello Tomorrow

| Dave Koz

|-

| Setzer Goes Instru-Mental!

| Brian Setzer

|-

| Wish Upon a Star: A Tribute to the Music of Walt Disney

| Jenny Oaks Baker

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=5, style="text-align:center;"|2013<br />

| Impressions

| Chris Botti

|-

| 24/7

| Gerald Albright and Norman Brown

|-

| Four Hands and a Heart, Volume One

| Larry Carlton

|-

| Live at the Blue Note Tokyo

| Dave Koz

|-

| Rumbadoodle

| Arun Shenoy

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=5, style="text-align:center;"|2014<br />

| Steppin' Out

| Herb Alpert

|-

| The Beat

| Boney James

|-

| Hacienda

| Jeff Lorber Fusion

|-

| HandPicked

| Earl Klugh

|-

| Summer Horns

| Dave Koz, Gerald Albright, Mindi Abair and Richard Elliot

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=5, style="text-align:center;"|2015<br />

| Bass & Mandolin

| Chris Thile and Edgar Meyer

|-

| Jazz Funk Soul

| Jeff Lorber, Chuck Loeb and Everette Harp

|-

| Nathan East

| Nathan East

|-

| Slam Dunk

| Gerald Albright

|-

| Wild Heart

| Mindi Abair

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=5, style="text-align:center;"|2016<br />

| Sylva

| Snarky Puppy and Metropole Orkest

|-

| Afrodeezia

| Marcus Miller

|-

| The Gospel According to Jazz, Chapter IV

| Kirk Whalum

|-

| Guitar in the Space Age!

| Bill Frisell

|-

| Love Language

| Wouter Kellerman

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=5, style="text-align:center;"|2017<br />

| Culcha Vulcha

| Snarky Puppy

|-

| Human Nature

| Herb Alpert

|-

| Unspoken

| Chuck Loeb

|-

| Way Back Home: Live from Rochester, NY

| Steve Gadd Band

|-

| When You Wish Upon a Star

| Bill Frisell

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=5, style="text-align:center;"|2018<br />

| Prototype

| Jeff Lorber Fusion

|-

| Bad Hombre

| Antonio Sánchez

|-

| Mount Royal

| Julian Lage and Chris Eldridge

|-

| Spirit

| Alex Han

|-

| What If

| The Jerry Douglas Band

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=5, style="text-align:center;"|2019<br />

| Steve Gadd Band

| Steve Gadd Band

|-

| The Emancipation Procrastination

| Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah

|-

| Modern Lore

| Julian Lage

|-

| Laid Black

| Marcus Miller

|-

| Protocol 4

| Simon Phillips featuring Greg Howe, Ernest Tibbs and Dennis Hamm

|-

|}

2020s

{| class="wikitable"

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! width="10%" | Year

! width="45%" | Work

! width="45%" | Artist

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=5, style="text-align:center;"|2020

| Mettavolution

| Rodrigo y Gabriela

|-

| Ancestral Recall

| Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah

|-

| Beat Music! Beat Music! Beat Music!

| Mark Guiliana

|-

| Elevate

| Lettuce

|-

| Star People Nation

| Theo Croker

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=5, style="text-align:center;"|2021<br />

| Live at the Royal Albert Hall

| Snarky Puppy

|-

| Americana

| Grégoire Maret, Romain Collin and Bill Frisell

|-

| Axiom

| Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah

|-

| Chronology of a Dream: Live at the Village Vanguard

| Jon Batiste

|-

| Take the Stairs

| Black Violin

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=5, style="text-align:center;"|2022<br />

| Tree Falls

| Taylor Eigsti

|-

| At Blue Note Tokyo

| Steve Gadd Band

|-

| Deep: The Baritone Sessions, Vol. 2

| Mark Lettieri

|-

| Double Dealin

| Randy Brecker and Eric Marienthal

|-

| The Garden

| Rachel Eckroth

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=5, style="text-align:center;"|2023<br />

| Empire Central

| Snarky Puppy

|-

| Between Dreaming and Joy

| Jeff Coffin

|-

| Blooz

| Grant Geissman

|-

| Jacob's Ladder

| Brad Mehldau

|-

| Not Tight

| DOMi & JD Beck

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=5, style="text-align:center;"|2024<br />

| As We Speak

| Béla Fleck, Zakir Hussain and Edgar Meyer featuring Rakesh Chaurasia

|-

| All One

| Ben Wendel

|-

| Jazz Hands

| Bob James

|-

| The Layers

| Julian Lage

|-

| On Becoming

| House of Waters

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=5, style="text-align:center;"|2025<br />

| Plot Armor

| Taylor Eigsti

|-

| MARK

| Mark Guiliana

|-

| Orchestras (Live)

| Bill Frisell featuring Alexander Hanson, Brussels Philharmonic, Rudy Royston and Thomas Morgan

|-

| Rhapsody in Blue

| Béla Fleck

|-

| Speak to Me

| Julian Lage

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=5, style="text-align:center;"|2026<br />

| Brightside

| ARKAI

|-

| BEATrio

| Béla Fleck, Edmar Castañeda and Antonio Sánchez

|-

| Just Us

| Bob James and Dave Koz

|-

| Ones & Twos

| Gerald Clayton

|-

| Shayan

| Charu Suri

|-

|}

 Each year is linked to the article about the Grammy Awards held that year.<br />

Artists with multiple wins

;4 wins

• Snarky Puppy

;2 wins

• Larry Carlton
• Taylor Eigsti
• Béla Fleck
• Booker T. Jones
• Edgar Meyer

Artists with multiple nominations

;7 nominations

• Dave Koz

;6 nominations

• Gerald Albright
• Kirk Whalum

;5 nominations

• Larry Carlton

;4 nominations

• Bill Frisell
• Béla Fleck
• Kenny G
• Julian Lage
• Jeff Lorber
• Snarky Puppy
• Spyro Gyra

;3 nominations

• Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah
• Chris Botti
• Steve Gadd Band
• Boney James
• Earl Klugh

;2 nominations

• Mindi Abair
• Herb Alpert
• Norman Brown
• Taylor Eigsti
• Mark Guiliana
• Bob James
• Booker T. Jones
• Chuck Loeb
• Edgar Meyer
• Marcus Miller
• Antonio Sánchez

See also

• Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance
• List of Grammy Award categories

References

;General

• Note: User must select the "Pop" category as the genre under the search feature.

;Specific