Soft Jazz
809 · #81A5C0 · LRV 37 — cool blue tone, mid-tone — versatile but shifts visibly with light.
- 1Hale Navy8
- 2Waterloo13
- 3Soft Jazz37
- 4Lost in the 80s51
- 5Honolulu Blue62
What Color Is Soft Jazz, Really?
Soft Jazz reads as a cool blue tone — mid-tone — versatile but shifts visibly with light. The notes below cover how Benjamin Moore 809 behaves in different light and the closest matches at competing US brands.
Best Rooms and Uses for Soft Jazz
Soft Jazz is versatile enough for full rooms but has enough depth to anchor a space, so it suits living rooms, bedrooms and cabinetry alike. Blues calm a room, which makes them popular in bedrooms, bathrooms and home offices.
How Lighting Changes Soft Jazz
Soft Jazz sits in the mid-range at LRV 37, so it shifts visibly through the day — lighter and more open in morning light, deeper and moodier after dark. Its blue undertone is the part to watch: it gets picked up by whatever sits next to it, so test it against your trim, floor and the room's main light before committing. South-facing rooms will pull it lighter and warmer, while north light cools it down.
Most complaints about Soft Jazz are a light mismatch. Upload a photo of your actual room and see it on your walls — then ask for the same wall in north light or evening lamps before you buy a single sample.
Need It From Another Brand?
Any paint counter can custom-tint Benjamin Moore 809 directly. If you would rather stay in one brand's own deck, these are the closest stock matches, measured as ΔE2000. Under 2 is a difference you will not see on the wall.
| Brand | Closest color | ΔE | LRV | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sherwin-Williams | Notable HueSW 6521 · Sherwin-Williams | 2.6 | 37 | Color page → |
| Behr | Hawaiian SkyPPU14-07 · Behr | 2.2 | 34 | Color page → |
| Valspar | Lovebirds4004-5C · Valspar | 1.2 | 37.2 | Color page → |
| PPG / Glidden | Serene SeaPPG1158-4 · PPG / Glidden | 3.1 | 36 | Color page → |
| Glidden | Country House Blue90BG 38/185 · Glidden | 0.9 | 38 | Color page → |
| Dutch Boy | Seabrook338-4DB · Dutch Boy | 3.5 | 35 | Color page → |
Similar Benjamin Moore Colors
The nearest shades to Soft Jazz within Benjamin Moore's own range, ranked by perceptual color distance — useful when you want the same look a touch lighter, darker, or warmer.
WCAG 2.1: AA is 4.5 : 1 for normal text, 3 : 1 for large text, AAA is 7 : 1.
Coordinated palette
Generated by hue-rotating #81A5C0 in HSL space. Pair Soft Jazz with one accent and one neutral — the swatches below are starting points, not final picks.
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