What BPM is jazz?
The most common tempo for jazz is 80 to 90 BPM. Across 67,628 jazz songs with verified tempo in the TempoTunes library, the median is 104 BPM and half of all songs fall between 87 and 123 BPM.
- Most common
- 80 to 90BPM
- Median
- 104BPM
- Songs
- 67,628verified tempo
Jazz songs across the tempo scale
Songs per 10 BPM. Orange marks the busiest stretch.
Jazz is spread wide. Even its busiest stretch, 80 to 90 BPM, holds only 18% of the songs, so you can find jazz at almost any pace.
One caution when you read any tempo chart: the same groove can be counted at half or double time, so a jazz song at 104 BPM can also read as 52 BPM. That is why many genres show a second, smaller hump.
The busiest jazz tempos
Chill jazz: 60 to 90 BPM
19,553 jazz songs at this pace: wind-downs, slow burns, and late-night listening.
Fodder on My Wings
Nina Simone
80 BPM (1987)
Shadrack
Louis Armstrong
89 BPM (1938)
The Music Goes ’round and Around
Ella Fitzgerald
89 BPM (1961)
Salt Peanuts
Miles Davis Quintet
89 BPM (1961)
Tell Me More and More, and Then Some
Billie Holiday
80 BPM (1991)
Peel Me a Grape
Diana Krall
89 BPM (1997)
Love of My Life
George Benson
80 BPM (1993)
John Coltrane Interview
John Coltrane
70 BPM (2018)
Steady jazz: 90 to 120 BPM
27,928 jazz songs at this pace: head-nod grooves and walking pace.
Why?
Nina Simone
90 BPM (1968)
Groovin'
Louis Armstrong
90 BPM (2000)
My Old Flame
Ella Fitzgerald
90 BPM (1959)
Peace
Miles Davis
90 BPM (2007)
Devil May Care
Diana Krall
90 BPM (1999)
Naima
George Benson
100 BPM (2011)
Ghosts of Yesterday
Billie Holiday
98 BPM (2003)
Buena Vista Social Club
Buena Vista Social Club
100 BPM (1997)
Drive jazz: 120 to 150 BPM
18,803 jazz songs at this pace: dance-floor and workout energy.
Work Song
Nina Simone
120 BPM (1967)
It Takes Two To Tango
Louis Armstrong
120 BPM (1952)
He Loves and She Loves
Ella Fitzgerald
120 BPM (1959)
Mr. Pastorius
Miles Davis
120 BPM (1989)
When I Look in Your Eyes
Diana Krall
120 BPM (1999)
Trav'lin Light
Billie Holiday
140 BPM (2002)
Tunji
John Coltrane
140 BPM (1962)
Six Play
George Benson
122 BPM
Other genres by BPM
Build a jazz playlist at your pace in seconds
Set the tempo, pick genres and artists, and TempoTunes builds the playlist from 2 million tracks with verified BPM. Save it to Apple Music, Tidal, or YouTube Music (Spotify once we reach 250k monthly listeners). Playlists that match your Pace.