Vocal jazz places the human voice at the center of jazz's improvisational tradition, transforming singers into instrumentalists who bend, scat, and phrase melodies with the same freedom as a saxophone or trumpet. Emerging in the early 20th century alongside instrumental jazz, the genre found its golden age in the 1940s–60s when artists like Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan pioneered scat singing and sophisticated harmonic interpretation, while Billie Holiday and Nina Simone infused standards with raw emotional storytelling. Unlike pop's emphasis on accessibility or blues' focus on repetition and rawness, vocal jazz demands technical virtuosity—singers navigate complex chord changes, swing rhythms, and often collaborate with skilled instrumentalists in intimate, conversational arrangements.
What distinguishes vocal jazz from adjacent genres is its balance of sophistication and spontaneity. While bossa nova leans toward sensual, syncopated minimalism and jazz instrumentals dominate through complex solos, vocal jazz uses the voice as both storyteller and instrument, marrying lyrical nuance with improvisation. From Louis Armstrong's gravelly innovations to Bobby McFerrin's a cappella experiments, the genre spans torch ballads, bebop scat, and standards reimagined through personal interpretation. Contemporary artists like Gregory Porter and Samara Joy carry the torch, proving vocal jazz remains a living dialogue between tradition and innovation.
Vocal jazz rewards attentive listening—it's where technical mastery meets soul-baring vulnerability, where a single phrased note can redefine a century-old standard, and where the voice itself becomes the ultimate expression of jazz's rebellious, boundless spirit.
Click column headers to sort
List updated:
| #83 | ByFrank Sinatra | Released:1954-08-02 | |||
| #3 | ByChet Baker | Released:1954 | |||
| #22 | ByFrank Sinatra | Released:1954 | |||
| #41 | ByBillie Holiday | Released:1954 | swingvocal jazz | ||
| #17 | ByFrank Sinatra | Released:1955-04-25 | |||
| #28 | ByJulie London | Released:1955-12 | |||
| #82 | BySarah Vaughan | Released:1955 | jazzvocal jazz | ||
| #75 | ByElla Fitzgerald | Released:1956-01-01 | |||
| #80 | ByFrank Sinatra | Released:1956-03-05 | |||
| #69 | ByBillie Holiday | Released:1956 | |||
| #48 | ByElla Fitzgerald | Released:1957-01-01 | jazzvocal jazz | ||
| #55 | ByFrank Sinatra | Released:1958-01-06 | |||
| #73 | ByNina Simone | Released:1958-06-24 | |||
| #89 | ByBillie Holiday | Released:1958-06 | |||
| #39 | BySarah Vaughan | Released:1958-07-07 | jazzvocal jazz | ||
| #51 | ByPeggy Lee | Released:1958-11-03 | |||
| #63 | ByElla Fitzgerald | Released:1959-06-05 | vocal jazz | ||
| #93 | ByBlossom Dearie | Released:1959 | |||
| #94 | ByElla Fitzgerald | Released:1960-10-01 | jazzvocal jazz | ||
| #49 | ByTony Bennett | Released:1962-06-18 | vocal jazztraditional pop | ||
| #46 | ByBetty Carter | Released:1964 | jazzvocal jazz | ||
| #16 | ByNina Simone | Released:1965 | |||
| #35 | ByAstrud Gilberto | Released:1965 | |||
| #57 | ByChet Baker | Released:1965 | jazzvocal jazz | ||
| #64 | ByNina Simone | Released:1966-01-01 | |||
| #65 | ByNina Simone | Released:1966-09-16 | |||
| #50 | ByNina Simone | Released:1969-01-01 | |||
| #52 | ByElla Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong | Released:1972 | |||
| #26 | ByTom Waits | Released:1973-03-06 | |||
| #8 | ByBillie Holiday | Released:1975 | |||
| #29 | ByElis Regina | Released:1976 | |||
| #88 | ByMaria Bethânia | Released:1978 | |||
| #18 | ByFrank Sinatra | Released:1984-08-01 | vocal jazzjazz | ||
| #59 | ByElis Regina | Released:1984 | |||
| #61 | ByBobby McFerrin | Released:1984 | |||
| #56 | ByBobby McFerrin | Released:1988-08-22 | |||
| #15 | ByNina Simone | Released:1988 | |||
| #70 | ByChet Baker | Released:1989-08-29 | |||
| #92 | ByNat King Cole | Released:1989 | |||
| #84 | ByFrank Sinatra | Released:1991-03-26 | |||
| #100 | ByJudy Garland | Released:1991 | |||
| #87 | ByShirley Horn | Released:1992-05-12 | vocal jazzjazz | ||
| #90 | ByCassandra Wilson | Released:1996-01-24 | |||
| #76 | ByFrank Sinatra | Released:1997-07-21 | |||
| #27 | ByDiana Krall | Released:1997-08-18 | jazzvocal jazz | ||
| #97 | ByDiana Krall | Released:1999-05-21 | |||
| #71 | ByDoris Day | Released:1999-06-01 | vocal jazz | ||
| #60 | ByBeady Belle | Released:2001-05-28 | |||
| #68 | ByStacey Kent | Released:2001-05-29 | jazzvocal jazz | ||
| #54 | ByBillie Holiday | Released:2001-09-17 | |||
| #67 | ByDiana Krall | Released:2001-09-18 | |||
| #78 | ByRobbie Williams | Released:2001-11-19 | |||
| #58 | BySilje Nergaard | Released:2001 | |||
| #7 | ByNorah Jones | Released:2002-02-26 | |||
| #37 | ByDiana Krall | Released:2002-10-01 | jazzvocal jazz | ||
| #42 | ByMichael Bublé | Released:2003-02-11 | |||
| #81 | ByStacey Kent | Released:2003-08-26 | |||
| #43 | ByMaria Rita | Released:2003-09-01 | vocal jazzmpb | ||
| #62 | ByJamie Cullum | Released:2003-10-20 | |||
| #5 | ByNorah Jones | Released:2004-02-06 | |||
| #79 | ByDiana Krall | Released:2004-03-31 | jazzvocal jazz | ||
| #47 | ByRenee Olstead | Released:2004-05-11 | |||
| #86 | ByLisa Ekdahl | Released:2004-09-08 | vocal jazz | ||
| #10 | ByMadeleine Peyroux | Released:2004-09-14 | |||
| #40 | BySophie Milman | Released:2004-10-12 | vocal jazzsmooth jazz | ||
| #9 | ByFrank Sinatra | Released:2004 | |||
| #31 | ByMichael Bublé | Released:2005-02-08 | |||
| #77 | ByMichael Bublé | Released:2005-11-15 | |||
| #30 | ByMadeleine Peyroux | Released:2006-09-12 | |||
| #12 | ByNorah Jones | Released:2006 | |||
| #20 | ByMichael Bublé | Released:2007-04-27 | |||
| #32 | ByStacey Kent | Released:2007-09-07 | jazzvocal jazz | ||
| #11 | ByMelody Gardot | Released:2007 | jazzvocal jazz | ||
| #72 | ByLizz Wright | Released:2008-02-26 | |||
| #74 | ByEsperanza Spalding | Released:2008-05-20 | |||
| #14 | ByMelody Gardot | Released:2008-12-16 | |||
| #91 | ByNorah Jones | Released:2008 | vocal jazz | ||
| #85 | ByLisa Ekdahl | Released:2009-04-08 | jazzvocal jazz | ||
| #24 | ByMichael Bublé | Released:2009-10-06 | |||
| #19 | ByFrank Sinatra | Released:2010-01-01 | vocal jazzbossa nova | ||
| #99 | ByStacey Kent | Released:2010-03-17 | vocal jazzchanson | ||
| #98 | ByStacey Kent | Released:2010-03-22 | vocal jazz | ||
| #13 | ByMichael Bublé | Released:2011-10-14 | jazzvocal jazz | ||
| #34 | ByCaravan Palace | Released:2012-03-02 | |||
| #44 | ByMelody Gardot | Released:2012-05-15 | |||
| #23 | ByNina Simone | Released:2012 | jazzvocal jazz | ||
| #36 | ByMelanie De Biasio | Released:2013-03-15 | vocal jazzjazz | ||
| #45 | ByGregory Porter | Released:2013-03-28 | jazzvocal jazz | ||
| #25 | ByFrank Sinatra | Released:2015-04-17 | |||
| #96 | ByGregory Porter | Released:2015 | contemporary jazzvocal jazz | ||
| #95 | ByElla Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong | Released:2016-11-25 | |||
| #66 | ByDean Martin | Released:2017 | |||
| #33 | ByElla Fitzgerald | Released:2019-02-22 | vocal jazz | ||
| #4 | ByMichael Bublé | Released:2021-11-12 | vocal jazz | ||
| #6 | ByMitski | Released:2022-03-01 | |||
| #38 | ByBillie Holiday | Released:2022-05-06 | |||
| #1 | ByLaufey | Released:2022-09-09 | |||
| #53 | BySamara Joy | Released:2022-09-16 | jazzvocal jazz | ||
| #21 | ByNatalia Lafourcade | Released:2022-10-28 | |||
| #2 | ByLaufey | Released:2023-09-08 |