You Must Hear 7

improvisation

Last updated: Thu Oct 23 2025 12:37:53 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

Description

Improvisation refers to music created spontaneously in the moment rather than from written compositions, spanning jazz, experimental, and avant-garde traditions across cultures. It emphasizes individual expression, risk-taking, and intuitive dialogue between musicians who respond to each other in real time. The approach values spontaneity over perfection, producing unique performances that can never be exactly replicated.

100 chronological releases

Place	Cover	Date	Artist	Album	Tags	Other places
99		1960-01-07	Ahmad Jamal	Happy Moods	acoustic cool jazz improvisation instrumental	cool jazz # 96
13		1967	Don Cherry	Symphony for Improvisers (The Rudy Van Gelder Edition) [Remastered)	acoustic improvisation instrumental
96		1970	Minoru Muraoka	Bamboo	improvisation instrumental jazz jazz fusion lounge	lounge # 18 jazz fusion # 38
62		1973	Ravi Shankar	Transmigration Macabre	improvisation indian classical neoclassical sitar	indian classical # 25 sitar # 61
48		1974	Chet Baker	Bespoke Songs, Lost Dogs, Deto		modern jazz # 31 jazz trumpet # 59
17		1976-02-11	Hans Reichel	Lower Lurum	improvisation
56		1978	Mauro Pagani	Mauro Pagani	improvisation italian
54		1979	Frank Zappa	Joe's XMasage	alternative rock blues blues rock experimental rock guitar virtuoso hard rock improvisation jam band progressive rock psychedelic rock rhythm and blues rock	jam band # 2
57		1980	Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush	What's Next	electric guitar improvisation	electric guitar # 85
20		1980	Baligh Hamdi & Magid Khan	Indo-Arabic Variations	arabic improvisation instrumental
76		1982	Keith Jarrett	Concerts	contemporary jazz improvisation jazz jazz piano piano piano solo solo piano	solo piano # 69 piano solo # 73
3		1984	John Bayless	Bach Meets the Beatles	improvisation jazz piano piano solo	piano solo # 23
77		1984	Ghédalia Tazartès	Une éclipse totale de soleil	experimental electronic improvisation sound collage	sound collage # 18 experimental electronic # 73
55		1986	Jonas Hellborg	Zenhouse	ambient arabic bass dark jazz ethnic improvisation indian jam jazz fusion minimalism oriental world world fusion	jam # 20 oriental # 57
63		1987	Steve Roach	Trance Archeology	experimental electronic improvisation soundscape	soundscape # 27 experimental electronic # 52
51		1988	Jonas Hellborg	Bass	improvisation
36		1989	Fushitsusha	Tokyo Invasion Volume 1	improvisation
88		1990	Tom Waits	Nighthawks At The Diner (Remastered)	americana improvisation jazz
75		1990-04-21	Miles Davis	'Round About Midnight (Legacy Edition)	acoustic cool jazz hard bop improvisation instrumental
29		1994-03-24	Keith Jarrett	The Moth and the Flame	jazz
71		1996	John Coltrane	Expression (Expanded Edition)	acoustic avant-garde jazz improvisation instrumental post-bop spiritual	avant-garde jazz # 1 post-bop # 16
84		1996-09-16	Experimental Audio Research	Phenomena 256	alternative rock electronic experimental rock improvisation indie rock post-rock space rock
67		1997	Stimmhorn	Schnee	improvisation traditional	traditional # 54
73		1997	Skúli Sverrisson	Seremonie	improvisation
78		1997-10-22	新居昭乃	そらの庭	alternative alternative pop breakbeat chaotic hardcore contemporary folk czech drone female vocalists german germany gothic rock idm improvisation indie folk indie pop j-pop japanese jazz rock meditation ndw nouvelle scene francaise oldies power pop rac remixes schlager singer-songwriter speedcore	contemporary folk # 13 germany # 32 remixes # 35 czech # 40 chaotic hardcore # 49 rac # 57 ndw # 69 speedcore # 70 nouvelle scene francaise # 76
40		1998-12	Porcupine Tree	Metanoia	progressive rock ambient
89		1999	Bill Frisell	Good Dog, Happy Man		jam band # 79 electric guitar # 99
43		1999	SPLaTTeRCeLL	Oah	fusion improvisation
86		1999-08-04	ROVO	Imago	improvisation
7		1999-11	Altered States	Plays Standards	fusion improvisation japanese jazz rock nu jazz progressive rock rock
53		1999-11	Loren MazzaCane Connors & Jim O'Rourke	In Bern	improvisation
60		2000	Maher Shalal Hash Baz	From a Summer to Another Summer	alternative rock improvisation indie rock jazz neo-psychedelia pop psychedelic rock
83		2000-05-24	新居昭乃	降るプラチナ	breakbeat chaotic hardcore contemporary folk czech drone german germany gothic rock grindcore idm improvisation indie folk j-pop jazz rock male vocalists mashup meditation minnesota ndw nouvelle scene francaise oldies power pop rac remixes schlager speedcore trap	contemporary folk # 26 schlager # 31 remixes # 50 germany # 56 mashup # 57 czech # 57 chaotic hardcore # 58 rac # 73 speedcore # 78 ndw # 79 nouvelle scene francaise # 82 minnesota # 93
33		2000-10-05	Taiga	Hypno (Live @ Zokol feat Aliska Bereg) 2006	acid folk alternative electronic ambient dark ambient dub electronic electronica ethnic flute glitch idm improvisation industrial noise russian trip	alternative electronic # 66 acid folk # 72 trip # 86
23		2001	Matthew Garrison	Matthew Garrison	bass improvisation jazz fusion
92		2002	John Coltrane	Giant Steps (60th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition) [2020 Remaster]	acoustic hard bop improvisation instrumental post-bop	hard bop # 83 post-bop # 94
61		2004	L'Arpeggiata	All' Improvviso: Ciaccone, Bergamasche, & un po' di Follie...
21		2004-04	Locus Solus	50th Birthday Celebration, Volume 3
64		2005-05-07	Zloty Dawai	Teleopsis Belzebuth	downbeat experimental rock german germany improvisation jazz	downbeat # 55
59		2005-10-15	Diatribes	Mémoires Disséquées/Dissected Memories	improvisation jazz
79		2005-11-23	新居昭乃	Sora No Uta	breakbeat chaotic hardcore contemporary folk diy drone gangsta rap german germany gothic rock grindcore harmonica idm improvisation indie folk japanese rock jazz rock krautrock male vocalists mashup meditation minnesota ndw norway norwegian nouvelle scene francaise oldies power pop reggaeton schlager speedcore techno trap	schlager # 4 contemporary folk # 16 germany # 37 mashup # 37 chaotic hardcore # 52 japanese rock # 55 ndw # 71 speedcore # 72 nouvelle scene francaise # 77 diy # 81 harmonica # 88 minnesota # 91
14		2006	Amos Hoffman	Na'ama	arabic improvisation instrumental oud	oud # 44
25		2006	Puyo Puyo	Orphan Tunes from the Mono Times	barcelona comedy concert electro electronic electronica electropop improvisation krautrock lo-fi noise rock soundtrack techno	concert # 51 barcelona # 73
65		2006	Rahim AlHaj	When the Soul Is Settled: Music of Iraq	arabic improvisation instrumental oud	oud # 71
9		2006	Julie Sassoon	New Life	improvisation piano
70		2006	Can	Live 1971-1977	art rock improvisation
87		2006	Brazilian Octopus	Brazilian Octopus	easy listening improvisation instrumental mpb psychedelic pop
81		2006-01-13	Frank Zappa	Imaginary Diseases	guitar virtuoso improvisation jazz fusion
1		2006-09-01	hwyl nofio	Hounded By Fury	improvisation noise
16		2007	Matti Paalanen	Warehouse of Distant Dreams 2	ambient alternative electronica
31		2007	Fred Frith & Evelyn Glennie	The Sugar Factory	improvisation
41		2008	Special Quartet	Namouche	improvisation jazz spain spanish	spain # 17
66		2008-01-23	新居昭乃	金の波 千の波	breakbeat chaotic hardcore contemporary folk czech drone german germany gothic rock grindcore idm improvisation indie folk j-pop jazz rock krautrock male vocalists mashup meditation minnesota ndw nouvelle scene francaise oldies power pop rac reggaeton remixes schlager speedcore trap	mashup # 4 czech # 5 remixes # 10 rac # 26 chaotic hardcore # 30 speedcore # 53 ndw # 55 nouvelle scene francaise # 61 minnesota # 87
49		2008-02-22	Various Artists	LAB@RES - resamplervolumedue	alternative electronic improvisation indie electronic jazz
30		2008-08-29	志方あきこ	Umineko no Naku Koro ni Theme Song	breakbeat chaotic hardcore contemporary folk diy gangsta rap gothic rock grindcore harmonica improvisation indie folk industrial japanese rock krautrock male vocalists mashup minnesota ndw norway norwegian nouvelle scene francaise nu metal oldies reggaeton schlager speedcore techno trap	harmonica # 11 diy # 15 ndw # 18 nouvelle scene francaise # 39 minnesota # 69
4		2009-03-22	SonicBrat	sonicbrat: Quiet Windows	acoustic ambient improvisation sampling shoegaze
85		2009-05-19	John Zorn	Alhambra Love Songs	improvisation jazz
24		2009-12-30	志方あきこ	Fluff	breakbeat brutal death metal chaotic hardcore cloud rap darkcore diy eai gothic rock grindcore improvisation indie folk krautrock louisiana male vocalists mashup medieval folk minnesota rac reggaeton techno trap	medieval folk # 16 louisiana # 39 minnesota # 67 eai # 87 darkcore # 89
6		2010-03-15	Spartak	Verona	ambient improvisation
94		2010-06-16	Takao Uematsu	Straight Ahead	improvisation instrumental jazz fusion
27		2011	Illusion of Safety	unreleased new recordings 2008	ambient electronic improvisation
44		2011-03-11	Smarton Trio	Smarton trio + 1	improvisation nu jazz
26		2011-08-13	志方あきこ	lirica ～Orgel Arrange Mini Album～	ambient breakbeat celtic chaotic hardcore classical dark ambient darkwave ethereal gangsta rap gothic rock grindcore harmonica improvisation indie folk instrumental male vocalists mashup medieval folk neoclassical new age norway norwegian rac	harmonica # 3 medieval folk # 17
22		2011-11	Catherine Delaunay	Le chien déguisé en vache	improvisation jazz
8		2012-04-24	Irureta	Les Briktechniciens de l'Infernal	improvisation lo-fi
37		2012-04-29	Goddess	Discovery	africa brazil breakbeat chamber pop choral christian contemporary folk dance drum and bass dub dubstep electronic electronica ethnic female fronted metal female vocalists folktronica fusion gangsta rap gothic metal grindcore improvisation industrial instrumental japanese rock krautrock mashup metal minnesota norwegian oldies pop pop rock reggae reggaeton schlager ska spain spanish svenskt synthpop techno tribal	svenskt # 5 japanese rock # 8 spain # 15 minnesota # 74
80		2013	Porcupine Tree	Metanoia (Remastered)	improvisation instrumental jazz rock progressive rock space rock
39		2013-02-27	Aidan Baker & A-Sun Amissa	Scarpe Sensée	ambient avant-folk avant-rock canada drone drone rock duo experimental folk experimental rock improvisation instrumental minimalism post-rock psychedelic rock	drone rock # 41 avant-rock # 49 experimental folk # 86
46		2013-03-07	Psycho Tree	Black January	improvisation
5		2013-07-30	Montibus Communitas	Hacia aquellos bosques de inmensidad	drone experimental folk improvisation peru peruvian	peru # 25 peruvian # 56 experimental folk # 69
52		2013-08-24	The Myrrors	Solar Collector	drone improvisation
68		2014-09-08	The Shaolin Afronauts	Follow The Path	funk improvisation jazz fusion spiritual jazz	spiritual jazz # 63
93		2015-04-18	Sun Ra	Sleeping Beauty (Expanded Edition)	avant-garde jazz improvisation jazz fusion spiritual spiritual jazz	spiritual # 84 avant-garde jazz # 87 spiritual jazz # 94
97		2016-07-15	21 Savage & Metro Boomin	Savage Mode	gangsta rap improvisation southern hip hop trap	southern hip hop # 13
69		2016-09-28	Chet Baker	Chet Baker Sings: It Could Happen To You	cool jazz improvisation vocal jazz
72		2017	Wayne Shorter	Speak No Evil (Rudy Van Gelder Edition)	acoustic hard bop improvisation instrumental post-bop	post-bop # 17
50		2017-07-07	Rob Mazurek	Rome	improvisation jazz
11		2017-12-13	Esperanza Spalding	Exposure	improvisation jazz rock
32		2017-12-29	Electric Octopus	Line Standing	funk improvisation instrumental jazz psychedelic rock stoner rock
90		2018-10-12	Eli Keszler	Stadium	ambient avant-garde jazz electroacoustic field recordings improvisation	avant-garde jazz # 77 electroacoustic # 79 field recordings # 84
82		2019-07-26	Sarathy Korwar	More Arriving	improvisation jazz world
100		2020-10-09	Mary Lattimore	Silver Ladders	electronic ethereal experimental rock improvisation meditation	ethereal # 55 experimental rock # 67 meditation # 98
95		2020-11-13	Suishou No Fune	Where the Spirits Are	ambient ethereal experimental rock improvisation jam band lo-fi noise rock post-rock psychedelic rock space rock	space rock # 51 jam band # 90
98		2022	Les Rallizes Dénudés	The OZ Tapes	acid rock garage rock improvisation noise rock psychedelic rock	noise rock # 10 acid rock # 97
42		2023-08-07	Aidan Baker	Tense Surfaces	ambient ambient techno canada drone electroacoustic improvisation lo-fi one man band one man project post-rock toronto	toronto # 38 one man band # 75 one man project # 82
91		2023-10-06	Mary Lattimore	Goodbye, Hotel Arkada		meditation # 69
28		2024	Void Patrol	Void Patrol	alternative drone improvisation jazz metal new york soundscape
12		2024-03-01	Cousin Silas	Relic Once Lost	ambient british dark ambient downtempo drone eai edm electroacoustic electronic electronica ethereal field recordings glitch idm improvisation instrumental lo-fi minimalism musique concrete soundscape	musique concrete # 12 eai # 84
10			ZAILM Atoyanh	MOTHMAN	chillout electro electronic fusion guitarist improvisation instrumental nordic norway norwegian nu jazz	guitarist # 55
15			Alchemorph Soundtracks	Improvisations	ambience ambient chillout electronic electronica ibiza improvisation new age oboe orchestra piano	ibiza # 57 ambience # 62 oboe # 85
18			Zailm Atoyanh Group	Inside A Way Of Fuzyon	ambient blues rock classic rock dark jazz downtempo easy listening electro electronica fusion guitarist improvisation instrumental jazz jazz fusion lo-fi modern jazz norway norwegian soundtrack	guitarist # 58
34			Abdolvahab Shahidi	The Masters of Persian Traditional Music, Oud (Instrumental)		oud # 57
35			Khamis El Fino Ali	Music for the Classical Oud	arabic improvisation instrumental oud	oud # 58
38			志方あきこ	Byakumu no Mayu ～Ricordando il passato～	breakbeat chaotic hardcore contemporary folk diy gangsta rap gothic rock grindcore harmonica improvisation indie folk industrial instrumental japanese rock krautrock male vocalists mashup minnesota ndw norway norwegian nouvelle scene francaise nu metal oldies reggaeton schlager speedcore techno trap	japanese rock # 9 ndw # 26 harmonica # 27 diy # 29 nouvelle scene francaise # 46 minnesota # 75
47			PENTAGONIC	PENTAGONIC	noise rock acid rock drone drone rock neo-psychedelia no wave noise punk post-metal post-punk post-rock psychedelic folk psychedelic rock space rock acid folk art punk dada deathrock improvisation	doomgaze # 28 drone rock # 52 noise punk # 67 acid folk # 77 dada # 89
58			Michael Garlington	Baloney Pony!!!!!!	acoustic alternative american americana anti-folk bluegrass country dixieland emo folk garage hardcore improvisation jam lo-fi memphis new orleans pop psychobilly roots san francisco soul soundtrack	new orleans # 9 roots # 16 jam # 24 san francisco # 46 memphis # 47 anti-folk # 58 dixieland # 79
2			Jonathan H. Pollack	2007	alternative ambient electronic improvisation jazz noise
45			James Kealy & His Regal Toes	Lone	choral composer electronic improvisation jazz progressive rock rock
74			Getatchew Mekuria & The Ex & Guests	Moa Anbessa	alternative art punk improvisation punk rock
19			Gabor Varadi	[live stuff, 2000-2006]

Related genres

• ambient
• electronic
• instrumental
• jazz
• noise
• drone
• alternative
• electronica
• acoustic
• fusion