The Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal 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 works (songs or albums) in the vocal jazz music genre. Awards 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".

History

Until 2001 this award was titled the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance. From 1981 to 1991 (except for 1985) this category was presented as separate awards for Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Female and Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Male.

Since 2001, only the performing artist has been regarded a nominee. For a winning album, the producer(s) and engineer(s)/mixer(s) also receive a Grammy statuette.

Years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were presented, for works released in the previous year.

Recipients

right|upright|thumb|Two-time winner [[Ella Fitzgerald.]]

right|upright|thumb|Two-time winner [[Al Jarreau.]]

right|upright|thumb|Two-time winner [[Diana Krall.]]

right|upright|thumb|Five-time winner [[Dianne Reeves.]]

right|upright|thumb|Two-time winner [[Nancy Wilson (jazz singer)|Nancy Wilson.]]

right|upright|thumb|Two-time winner [[Kurt Elling.]]

right|upright|thumb|Two-time winner [[Gregory Porter.]]

right|upright|thumb|Three-time winner [[Cécile McLorin Salvant.]]

right|upright|thumb|Three-time winner [[Esperanza Spalding.]]

1970s

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|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=5, style="text-align:center;"|1977<br />

| Fitzgerald and Pass... Again

| Ella Fitzgerald

|-

| More Sarah Vaughan Live in Japan

| Sarah Vaughan

|-

| Porgy and Bess

| Ray Charles and Cleo Laine

|-

| Quire

| Quire

|-

| Where Is Love?

| Irene Kral

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;"|1978<br />

| Look to the Rainbow

| Al Jarreau

|-

| Amoroso

| João Gilberto

|-

| Carmen McRae at The Great American Music Hall

| Carmen McRae

|-

| Helen Merrill/John Lewis

| Helen Merrill

|-

| Kral Space

| Irene Kral

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=6 style="text-align:center;"|1979<br />

| All Fly Home

| Al Jarreau

|-

| Gentle Rain

| Irene Kral

|-

| How Long Has This Been Going On

| Sarah Vaughan

|-

| The Main Man

| Eddie Jefferson

|-

| Together Again: For the First Time

| Mel Tormé

|-

| True to Life

| Ray Charles

|-

|}

1980s

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|-|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;"|1980<br />

| Fine and Mellow

| Ella Fitzgerald

|-

| I Love Brazil!

| Sarah Vaughan

|-

| The Live-Liest

| Eddie Jefferson

|-

| Prez and Joe

| Joe Williams

|-

| Sneakin' Around

| Helen Humes

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;"|1985<br />

| Nothin' but the Blues

| Joe Williams

|-

| An Evening at Charlie's

| Mel Tormé

|-

| Harlem Butterfly

| Lorez Alexandria

|-

| Ridin' High

| Sue Raney

|-

| You're Lookin' at Me

| Carmen McRae

|-

|}

1990s

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|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=5, style="text-align:center;"|1992<br />

| He Is Christmas

| Take 6

|-

| "Ellington Medley"

| Mel Tormé

|-

| "Long 'Bout Midnight"

| Natalie Cole

|-

| The Offbeat of Avenues

| The Manhattan Transfer

|-

| You Won't Forget Me

| Shirley Horn

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;"|1993<br />

| "Round Midnight"

|

|-

| All the Way

| Jimmy Scott

|-

| Here's to Life

| Shirley Horn

|-

| "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows"

| Take 6

|-

| You Gotta Pay the Band

| Abbey Lincoln

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;"|1994<br />

|

|

|-

| Light Out of Darkness

| Shirley Horn

|-

| Now and Then

| Ernestine Anderson

|-

| "The Pink Panther Theme"

| Bobby McFerrin

|-

| Swing That Music

| Bobby Short with Alden Barrett Quintet

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;"|1995<br />

|

|

|-

| Blue Light 'til Dawn

| Cassandra Wilson

|-

| I Love You, Paris

| Shirley Horn

|-

| Keeping Tradition

| Dee Dee Bridgewater

|-

| We'll Be Together Again

| Lena Horne

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;"|1996<br />

|

|

|-

| Close Your Eyes

| Kurt Elling

|-

| Love and Peace: A Tribute to Horace Silver

| Dee Dee Bridgewater

|-

| Quiet After the Storm

| Dianne Reeves

|-

| A Turtle's Dream

| Abbey Lincoln

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;"|1997<br />

|

|

|-

| All for You

| Diana Krall

|-

| Blues, Dues and Love News

| Ernestine Anderson

|-

| The Main Ingredient

| Shirley Horn

|-

| Shaking Free

| Nnenna Freelon

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;"|1998<br />

|

|

|-

| Love Scenes

| Diana Krall

|-

| Loving You

| Shirley Horn

|-

| The Messenger

| Kurt Elling

|-

| Song for the Geese

| Mark Murphy

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;"|1999<br />

|

|

|-

| Maiden Voyage

| Nnenna Freelon

|-

| My Buddy: Etta Jones Sings the Songs of Buddy Johnson

| Etta Jones

|-

| That Day...

| Dianne Reeves

|-

| This Time It's Love

| Kurt Elling

|-

|}

2000s

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|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;"|2000<br />

|

|

|-

| Bridges

| Dianne Reeves

|-

| Heart of a Woman

| Etta James

|-

| It's All About Love

| Carla Cook

|-

| Traveling Miles

| Cassandra Wilson

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

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

| In the Moment — Live in Concert

|

|-

| Live at Yoshi's

| Dee Dee Bridgewater

|-

| Live in Chicago

| Kurt Elling

|-

| Merry-Go-Round

| Freddy Cole

|-

| Soulcall

| Nnenna Freelon

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

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

|

| Dianne Reeves

|-

| Ballads: Remembering John Coltrane

| Karrin Allyson

|-

| Flirting with Twilight

| Kurt Elling

|-

| The Mose Chronicles: Live in London, Vol. 1

| Mose Allison

|-

| You're My Thrill

| Shirley Horn

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

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

|

|

|-

| Ask a Woman Who Knows

| Natalie Cole

|-

| Brazilian Duos

| Luciana Souza

|-

| Etta Jones Sings Lady Day

| Etta Jones

|-

| For Ella

| Patti Austin

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

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

|

|

|-

| Man in the Air

| Kurt Elling

|-

| May the Music Never End

| Shirley Horn

|-

| Nature Boy: The Standards Album

| Aaron Neville

|-

| North and South

| Luciana Souza

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

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

|

|

|-

| Accentuate the Positive

| Al Jarreau

|-

| American Song

| Andy Bey

|-

| The Dana Owens Album

| Queen Latifah

|-

| Twentysomething

| Jamie Cullum

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

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

| Good Night, and Good Luck

|

|-

| Blueprint of a Lady: Sketches of Billie Holiday

| Nnenna Freelon

|-

| Duos II

| Luciana Souza

|-

| I'm with the Band

| Tierney Sutton

|-

| J'ai deux amours

| Dee Dee Bridgewater

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

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

|

|

|-

| Easy to Love

| Roberta Gambarini

|-

| Footprints

| Karrin Allyson

|-

| From This Moment On

| Diana Krall

|-

| Live at Jazz Standard with Fred Hersch

| Nancy King

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

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

| Avant Gershwin

|

|-

| Music Maestro Please

| Freddy Cole

|-

| Nightmoves

| Kurt Elling

|-

| On the Other Side

| Tierney Sutton

|-

| Red Earth

| Dee Dee Bridgewater

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

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

|

|

|-

| Breakfast on the Morning Tram

| Stacey Kent

|-

| Distances

| Norma Winstone

|-

| If Less Is More...Nothing Is Everything

| Kate McGarry

|-

| Imagina: Songs of Brazil

| Karrin Allyson

|-

|}

2010s

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

|

|

|-

| Desire

| Tierney Sutton

|-

| No Regrets

| Randy Crawford and Joe Sample

|-

| So in Love

| Roberta Gambarini

|-

| Tide

| Luciana Souza

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

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

|

| Terri Lyne Carrington & Various Artists

|-

| American Road

| Tierney Sutton

|-

| The Gate

| Kurt Elling

|-

| The Music of Randy Newman

| Roseanna Vitro

|-

| Round Midnight

| Karrin Allyson

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

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

|

|

|-

| 1619 Broadway: The Brill Building Project

| Kurt Elling

|-

| The Book of Chet

| Luciana Souza

|-

| Live

| Al Jarreau and Metropole Orchestra

|-

| Soul Shadows

| Denise Donatelli

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

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

|

| Gregory Porter

|-

| After Blue

| Tierney Sutton

|-

| Attachments

| Lorraine Feather

|-

| WomanChild

| Cécile McLorin Salvant

|-

| The World According to Andy Bey

| Andy Bey

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

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

|

| Dianne Reeves

|-

| I Wanna Be Evil: With Love to Eartha Kitt

| René Marie

|-

| Live in NYC

| Gretchen Parlato

|-

| Map to the Treasure: Reimagining Laura Nyro

| Billy Childs and Various Artists

|-

| Paris Sessions

| Tierney Sutton

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

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

|

| Cécile McLorin Salvant

|-

| Find a Heart

| Denise Donatelli

|-

| Flirting with Disaster

| Lorraine Feather

|-

| Jamison

| Jamison Ross

|-

| Many a New Day: Karrin Allyson Sings Rodgers & Hammerstein

| Karrin Allyson

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

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

|

| Gregory Porter

|-

| Harlem on My Mind

| Catherine Russell

|-

| Sound of Red

| René Marie

|-

| The Sting Variations

| The Tierney Sutton Band

|-

| Upward Spiral

| Branford Marsalis Quartet with Kurt Elling

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

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

|

| Cécile McLorin Salvant

|-

| Bad Ass and Blind

| Raul Midón

|-

| The Journey

| The Baylor Project

|-

| Porter Plays Porter

| Randy Porter Trio with Nancy King

|-

| A Social Call

| Jazzmeia Horn

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

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

|

| Cécile McLorin Salvant

|-

| If You Really Want

| Raul Midón with the Metropole Orkest conducted by Vince Mendoza

|-

| My Mood Is You

| Freddy Cole

|-

| The Questions

| Kurt Elling

|-

| The Subject Tonight Is Love

| Kate McGarry, Keith Ganz and Gary Versace

|-

|}

2020s

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|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

! rowspan=5 style="text-align:center;"|2020<br />

| 12 Little Spells

| Esperanza Spalding

|-

| Alone Together

| Catherine Russell

|-

| Love & Liberation

| Jazzmeia Horn

|-

| ScreenPlay

| The Tierney Sutton Band

|-

| Thirsty Ghost

| Sara Gazarek

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

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

| Secrets Are the Best Stories

| Kurt Elling featuring Danilo Pérez

|-

| Holy Room: Live at Alte Oper

| Somi with the Frankfurt Radio Big Band conducted by John Beasley

|-

| Modern Ancestors

| Carmen Lundy

|-

| ONA

| Thana Alexa

|-

| What's the Hurry

| Kenny Washington

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

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

| Songwrights Apothecary Lab

| Esperanza Spalding

|-

| Flor

| Gretchen Parlato

|-

| Generations

| The Baylor Project

|-

| SuperBlue

| Kurt Elling and Charlie Hunter

|-

| Time Traveler

| Nnenna Freelon

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

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

| Linger Awhile

| Samara Joy

|-

| The Evening: Live at APPARATUS

| The Baylor Project

|-

| Fade to Black

| Carmen Lundy

|-

| Fifty

| The Manhattan Transfer with the WDR Funkhausorchester

|-

| Ghost Song

| Cécile McLorin Salvant

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

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

| How Love Begins

| Nicole Zuraitis

|-

| Alive at the Village Vanguard

| Fred Hersch and Esperanza Spalding

|-

| For Ella 2

| Patti Austin featuring Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band

|-

| Lean In

| Gretchen Parlato and Lionel Loueke

|-

| Mélusine

| Cécile McLorin Salvant

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

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

| A Joyful Holiday

| Samara Joy

|-

| Journey in Black

| Christie Dashiell

|-

| Milton + Esperanza

| Milton Nascimento and Esperanza Spalding

|-

| My Ideal

| Catherine Russell and Sean Mason

|-

| Wildflowers, Vol. 1

| Kurt Elling and Sullivan Fortner

|-

|- style="background:#FAEB86;"

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

| Portrait

| Samara Joy

|-

| Elemental

| Dee Dee Bridgewater and Bill Charlap

|-

| Fly

| Michael Mayo

|-

| Live at Vic's Las Vegas

| Nicole Zuraitis, Dan Pugach, Tom Scott, Idan Morim, Keyon Harrold and Rachel Eckroth

|-

| We Insist 2025!

| Terri Lyne Carrington and Christie Dashiell featuring Weedie Braimah, Milena Casado, Morgan Guerin, Simon Moulier and Matthew Stevens

|-

|}

Artists with multiple wins

;5 wins

  • Dianne Reeves

;3 wins

  • Cécile McLorin Salvant
  • Esperanza Spalding
  • Samara Joy

;2 wins

  • Ella Fitzgerald
  • Al Jarreau
  • Dee Dee Bridgewater
  • Cassandra Wilson
  • Kurt Elling
  • Diana Krall
  • Nancy Wilson
  • Gregory Porter

Artists with multiple nominations

;15 nominations

  • Kurt Elling

;9 nominations

  • Shirley Horn

;8 nominations

  • Dianne Reeves
  • Tierney Sutton

;7 nominations

  • Dee Dee Bridgewater

;6 nominations

  • Cécile McLorin Salvant

;5 nominations

  • Nnenna Freelon
  • Diana Krall
  • Karrin Allyson
  • Luciana Souza
  • Esperanza Spalding

;4 nominations

  • Al Jarreau
  • Cassandra Wilson
  • Freddy Cole

;3 nominations

  • The Baylor Project
  • Catherine Russell
  • Denise Donatelli
  • Gregory Porter
  • Gretchen Parlato
  • Irene Kral
  • Lorraine Feather
  • Mel Tormé
  • Natalie Cole
  • Patti Austin
  • Samara Joy
  • Sarah Vaughan

;2 nominations

  • Abbey Lincoln
  • Andy Bey
  • Bobby McFerrin
  • Carmen Lundy
  • Carmen McRae
  • Eddie Jefferson
  • Ella Fitzgerald
  • Ernestine Anderson
  • Etta James
  • Fred Hersch
  • Jazzmeia Horn
  • Joe Williams
  • Kate McGarry
  • Lena Horne
  • Metropole Orchestra
  • Nancy King
  • Nancy Wilson
  • Raul Midón
  • Ray Charles
  • René Marie
  • Roberta Gambarini
  • Take 6
  • The Manhattan Transfer

References

;General

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

;Specific

  • Official site of the Grammy Awards