Country United States Last awarded 2016 Presented by The Recording Academy Category of Grammy Awards | First awarded 2001 Official website grammy.com Instituted 2001 | |
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Awarded for Quality instrumental albums in the pop music genre People also search for Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album Winners & Nominees Culcha VulchaSnarky Puppy, Culcha Vulcha, Winner, UnspokenChuck Loeb, Unspoken, Nominee, When You Wish Upon a StarBill Frisell, When You Wish Upon a Star, Nominee, Way Back Home: Live From Rochester - NYSteve Gadd Band, Way Back Home: Live From Rochester - NY, Nominee, Human NatureHerb Alpert, Human Nature, Nominee, SylvaSnarky Puppy - Metropole Orkest, Sylva, Winner, The Gospel According to Jazz - Chapter IVKirk Whalum, The Gospel According to Jazz - Chapter IV, Nominee, Guitar in the Space Age!Bill Frisell, Guitar in the Space Age!, Nominee, AfrodeeziaMarcus Miller, Afrodeezia, Nominee, Love LanguageWouter Kellerman, Love Language, Nominee, Bass & MandolinChris Thile - Edgar Meyer, Bass & Mandolin, Winner, Jazz Funk SoulChuck Loeb - Jeff Lorber - Everette Harp, Jazz Funk Soul, Nominee, Nathan EastNathan East, Nathan East, Nominee, Slam DunkGerald Albright, Slam Dunk, Nominee, Wild HeartMindi Abair, Wild Heart, Nominee, Steppin' OutHerb Alpert, Steppin' Out, Winner, Summer HornsDave Koz - Mindi Abair - Gerald Albright -, Summer Horns, Nominee, HaciendaThe Jeff Lorber Fusion, Hacienda, Nominee, The BeatBoney James, The Beat, Nominee, HandPickedEarl Klugh, HandPicked, Nominee, ImpressionsChris Botti - Bobby Colomby - Allen Sides, Impressions, Winner, 24/7Norman Brown - Gerald Albright, 24/7, Nominee, RumbadoodleArun Shenoy, Rumbadoodle, Nominee, Live At The Blue Note TokyoDave Koz, Live At The Blue Note Tokyo, Nominee, Four Hands & A Heart Volume OneLarry Carlton, Four Hands & A Heart Volume One, Nominee | ||
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". Award recipients often include the producers, engineers, and/or mixers associated with the nominated work in addition to the recording artists. In 2005, the producer of a compilation album was the only award recipient. As of 2015, Larry Carlton and Booker T. Jones are the only musicians to receive the award more than once. Gerald Albright received the most nominations with six.
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
^[I] Each year is linked to the article about the Grammy Awards held that year.
^[II] An award was presented to James R. Jensen as the producer of the album.