The Latin Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz/Jazz Album is an honor presented annually at the

Latin Grammy Award The Latin Grammy Awards are an award by The Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from anywhere around the world that has been ...

s, a ceremony that recognizes excellence and creates a wider awareness of cultural diversity and contributions of Latin recording artists in the United States and internationally. The award has been given to artists since the 1st Latin Grammy Awards in 2000 for vocal or instrumental albums containing more than half of its playing time of newly recorded material in Spanish or Portuguese.

Latin jazz Latin jazz is a genre of jazz with Latin American rhythms. The two main categories are Afro-Cuban jazz, rhythmically based on Cuban popular dance music, with a rhythm section employing ostinato patterns or a clave, and Afro-Brazilian jazz, which ...

is a mixture of musical genres, including Afro-Caribbean and Pan-American rhythms with the harmonic structure of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

. Other jazz genres may also be considered for inclusion by the Jazz Committee. The award was first presented as a tie between

Michel Camilo Michel Camilo (born April 4, 1954) is a Grammy-award winning pianist and composer from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He specializes in jazz, Latin and classical piano work. Camilo lists some of his main influences as Chick Corea, Keith Ja ...

and

Tomatito José Fernández Torres, known as Tomatito (born Fondón, 1958), is a Spanish roma flamenco guitarist and composer. Having started his career accompanying famed flamenco singer Camarón de la Isla (with Paco de Lucía), he has made a number of ...

for ''

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

'' and Paquito D'Rivera for '' Tropicana Nights''. D'Rivera holds the record for most wins as performer in this category, with six (including one awarded as the Paquito D'Rivera Quintet) out of eight nominations.

Bebo Valdés Dionisio Ramón Emilio Valdés Amaro (October 9, 1918 – March 22, 2013), better known as Bebo Valdés, was a Cuban pianist, bandleader, composer and arranger. He was a central figure in the golden age of Cuban music, especially due to his big b ...

won the award twice for albums which also earned the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

: ''Bebo de Cuba'' received the Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album accolade in 2005, while '' Juntos Para Siempre'', by Bebo and

Chucho Valdés Jesús Valdés Rodríguez, better known as Chucho Valdés (born October 9, 1941), is a Cuban pianist, bandleader, composer and arranger whose career spans over 50 years. An original member of the Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna, in 1973 he fo ...

won for Latin Jazz Album in 2010. Chucho Valdés has won the award four times while Bebo, Camilo,

Gonzalo Rubalcaba Gonzalo Rubalcaba (born May 27, 1963) is an Afro-Cuban jazz pianist and composer. Early life Rubalcaba was born Gonzalo Julio González Fonseca in Havana, Cuba into a musical family. He adopted his great grandmother's name for professional use, ...

, and

Arturo Sandoval Arturo Sandoval is a Cuban-American jazz trumpeter, pianist, and composer. While living in his native Cuba, Sandoval was influenced by jazz musicians Charlie Parker, Clifford Brown, and Dizzy Gillespie. In 1977 he met Gillespie, who became his f ...

have been awarded twice. In 2012, the award was given to Sandoval for the album ''

Dear Diz (Every Day I Think of You) ''Dear Diz (Every Day I Think of You)'' is an album by Cuban jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval that won the Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album in 2013. The album is Sandoval's tribute to his friend, Dizzy Gillespie. Musicians on the al ...

'', which was also nominated for Album of the Year. Since its inception, the award has been presented to musicians or ensembles originating from Brazil, Cuba, Dominican Republic, United States, and Spain.