The Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album is an award that was first presented in 1959.
History
From 1959 to 2011, the award was called Best Instrumental Jazz Album, Individual or Group. In 2012, it was shortened to Best Jazz Instrumental Album, encompassing albums that previously fell under the categories Best Contemporary Jazz Album and Best Latin Jazz Album (both defunct as of 2012). A year later, the Best Latin Jazz Album category returned, disallowing albums in that category to be nominated for Best Jazz Instrumental Album.
This category is meant for albums containing greater than 50% playing time of new instrumental jazz recordings.
Years listed indicate the year in which the Grammy Awards were presented for works released in the previous year. Before 1962 and from 1972 to 1978, the award title did not specify instrumental performances and was presented for instrumental or vocal performances. The award has had several name changes.
Name changes
- 1959–1960: Best Jazz Performance, Group
- 1961: Best Jazz Performance Solo or Small Group
- 1962–1963: Best Jazz Performance Solo or Small Group (Instrumental)
- 1964: Best Instrumental Jazz Performance – Soloist or Small Group
- 1965–1966: Best Instrumental Jazz Performance – Small Group or Soloist
- 1967: Best Instrumental Jazz Performance – Group or Soloist with Group
- 1968–1971: Best Instrumental Jazz Performance, Small Group or Soloist with Small Group
- 1972–1978: Best Jazz Performance by a Group
- 1979–1992: Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Group
- 1993–2000: Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Individual or Group
- 2001–2011: Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group
Recipients
right|upright|thumb|1959 winner [[Count Basie.]]
right|upright|thumb|1960 winner [[Jonah Jones.]]
right|upright|thumb|Two-time winner [[André Previn.]]
right|upright|thumb|Two-time winner [[Stan Getz.]]
right|upright|thumb|1966 winner [[Ramsey Lewis.]]
right|upright|thumb|Two-time winner [[Wes Montgomery.]]
right|upright|thumb|1968 winner [[Cannonball Adderley (left).]]
right|upright|thumb|Five-time winner [[Bill Evans.]]
right|upright|thumb|1973 winner [[Freddie Hubbard.]]
right|upright|thumb|[[Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen won the award in 1975 alongside Oscar Peterson and Joe Pass.]]
right|upright|thumb|Thirteen-time winner [[Chick Corea.]]
right|upright|thumb|Three-time winner [[Gary Burton.]]
right|upright|thumb|Three-time winner [[Phil Woods.]]
right|upright|thumb|1985 winner [[Art Blakey.]]
right|upright|thumb|Three-time winner [[Oscar Peterson.]]
right|upright|thumb|Two-time winner [[Branford Marsalis.]]
right|upright|thumb|Two-time winner [[McCoy Tyner.]]
right|upright|thumb|Four-time winner [[Michael Brecker.]]
right|upright|thumb|Two-time winner [[John Scofield.]]
right|upright|thumb|Four-time winner [[Wayne Shorter.]]
right|upright|thumb|Three-time winner [[Pat Metheny.]]
{| class="wikitable"
! width="7%" | Year
! width="25%" | Performing artist(s)
! width="25%" | Work
! width="35%" class=unsortable|Nominees
! width="5%" class=unsortable|Ref.
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1959
| Count Basie
| Basie
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1960
| Jonah Jones
| I Dig Chicks
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1961
| rowspan="2"|André Previn
| West Side Story
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1962
| André Previn Plays Songs by Harold Arlen
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1963
| Stan Getz
| Desafinado
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1964
| Bill Evans
| Conversations with Myself
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1965
| Stan Getz
| Getz/Gilberto
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1966
| Ramsey Lewis
| The In Crowd
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1967
| Wes Montgomery
| Goin' Out of My Head
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1968
| Cannonball Adderley
| Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! Live at 'The Club
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1969
| Bill Evans
| Bill Evans at the Montreux Jazz Festival
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1970
| Wes Montgomery
| Willow Weep for Me
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1971
| Bill Evans
| Alone
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1972
| Bill Evans Trio
| The Bill Evans Album
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1973
| Freddie Hubbard
| First Light
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1974
| Supersax
| Supersax Plays Bird
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1975
| Joe Pass, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Oscar Peterson
| The Trio
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1976
| Chick Corea & Return to Forever
| No Mystery
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1977
| Chick Corea
| The Leprechaun
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1978
| Phil Woods
| The Phil Woods Six – Live from the Showboat
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1979
| Chick Corea
| Friends
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1980
| Chick Corea & Gary Burton
| Duet
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1981
| Bill Evans
| We Will Meet Again
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1982
| Chick Corea & Gary Burton
| Chick Corea & Gary Burton in Concert - Zurich, October 28, 1979
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1983
| rowspan="2"|Phil Woods
| "More" Live
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1984
| At the Vanguard
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1985
| Art Blakey
| New York Scene
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1986
| rowspan="3"|Wynton Marsalis
| Black Codes (From the Underground)
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1987
| J Mood
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1988
| Marsalis Standard Time, Vol. I
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1989
| Roy Haynes, Cecil McBee, David Murray, Pharoah Sanders, McCoy Tyner
| Blues for Coltrane: A Tribute to John Coltrane
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1990
| Chick Corea
| Chick Corea Akoustic Band
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1991
| rowspan="2"|Oscar Peterson Trio
| The Legendary Oscar Peterson Trio Live at the Blue Note
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1992
| Saturday Night at the Blue Note
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1993
| Branford Marsalis
| I Heard You Twice the First Time
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1994
| Joe Henderson
| So Near, So Far (Musings for Miles)
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1995
| Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, Wallace Roney, Wayne Shorter, Tony Williams
| A Tribute to Miles
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1996
| McCoy Tyner Trio & Michael Brecker
| Infinity
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1997
| Michael Brecker
| Tales from the Hudson
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1998
| Charlie Haden & Pat Metheny
| Beyond the Missouri Sky (Short Stories)
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|1999
| Herbie Hancock
| Gershwin's World
|
|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|2000
| Gary Burton, Chick Corea, Roy Haynes, Dave Holland and Pat Metheny
| Like Minds
|
| align="center"|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|2001
| Branford Marsalis
| Contemporary Jazz
|
| align="center"|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|2002
| Sonny Rollins
| This Is What I Do
|
| align="center"|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|2003
| Herbie Hancock, Michael Brecker and Roy Hargrove
| Directions in Music: Live at Massey Hall
|
| align="center"|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|2004
| Wayne Shorter
| Alegría
|
| align="center"|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|2005
| McCoy Tyner with Gary Bartz, Terence Blanchard, Christian McBride and Lewis Nash
| Illuminations
|
| align="center"|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|2006
| Wayne Shorter
| Beyond the Sound Barrier
|
| align="center"|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|2007
| Chick Corea
| The Ultimate Adventure
|
| align="center"|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|2008
| Michael Brecker
| Pilgrimage
|
| align="center"|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|2009
| Chick Corea & Gary Burton
| The New Crystal Silence
|
| align="center"|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|2010
| Chick Corea & John McLaughlin
| Five Peace Band Live
|
| align="center"|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|2011
| James Moody
| Moody 4B
|
| align="center"|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|2013
| Pat Metheny
| Unity Band
|
| align="center"|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|2014
| Terri Lyne Carrington
| Money Jungle: Provocative in Blue
|
| align="center"|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|2015
| Chick Corea
| Trilogy
|
| align="center"|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|2016
| John Scofield
| Past Present
|
| align="center"|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|2017
| John Scofield
| Country for Old Men
|
|align="center"|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|2018
| Billy Childs
| Rebirth
|
|align="center"|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|2019
| Wayne Shorter Quartet
| Emanon
|
|align="center"|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|2020
| Brad Mehldau
| Finding Gabriel
|
|align="center"|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|2021
| Chick Corea <small>(posthumous)</small>, Christian McBride & Brian Blade
| Trilogy 2
|
|align="center"|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|2022
| Ron Carter, Jack DeJohnette and Gonzalo Rubalcaba
| Skyline
|
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center;"|2023
| Terri Lyne Carrington, Kris Davis, Linda May Han Oh, Nicholas Payton, and Matthew Stevens
| New Standards Vol. 1
|
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
!2024
|Billy Childs
|The Winds of Change
|
|
|-
!Scope="row"|2025
| Chick Corea and Béla Fleck
| Remembrance
|
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
!2026
|Sullivan Fortner ft. Peter Washington & Marcus Gilmore
|Southern Nights
|
- <small>Chick Corea, Christian McBrid</small><nowiki/><small>e & Brian Blade – Trilogy 3 — Live</small>
- <small>Branford Marsalis Quartet – Belonging</small>
- <small>John Patitucci ft. Chris Potter & Brian Blade – Spirit Fall</small>
- <small>Yellowjackets – Fasten Up</small>
| style="text-align: center;" |
|}
See also
- Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album
- Grammy Award for Best Improvised Jazz Solo
- Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album