This episode shares overviews of seminal neuroimaging studies that provide insights into what happens in the brain during improvisation. You will learn how these findings align with what improvisers say about their experiences, including remarks from Bill Evans, Sonny Rollins, Kenny Werner, Pat Metheny, and Gary Burton. Cross-cultural perspectives are included here, as well, including reference to a traditional Japanese visual art form and traditional perspectives from West Africa.

References for the episode:

Kind of Blue liner notes by Bill Evans: http://albumlinernotes.com/Kind_of_Blue.html

Saxophone Colossus documentary about Sonny Rollins: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0196073/

Full interview with Kenny Werner: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsPg5lu4WCg&t=2318s

Pat Metheny at the Society for Neuroscience conference in 2018: https://youtu.be/yhAbNv1gJT8?si=uMgB-MxmrciyKBAN

Gary Burton’s Improv Class: https://youtu.be/t2txO_u2eNg?si=CBd6uc52UqxBOYz6

Limb & Braun, 2008: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0001679

Liu et al., 2012: https://www.nature.com/articles/srep00834

Rosen et al., 2020: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811920301191

Rosen et al., 2016: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2016.00579/full

Malidoma Somé: The Ancestors' Gift of Healing: https://youtu.be/io28LgxYRf0?si=9ZX63gP4qtiI3s7t