8 Solo Piano Improvisers You Should Know: Pioneers of Contemporary Piano Improvisation

1. Keith Jarrett – Sacred Ritual – transcendent jazz improvisation

Keith Jarrett is widely accepted as the greatest solo piano improviser of our time. His 1975 classic, The Köln Concert, is the all-time top-selling solo piano album. Jarrett improvised with the passion of a religious cult—his concerts were extended meditations, often played as one continuous stream of consciousness. His music reflected gospel, classical, jazz, and folk traditions, all filtered through his deeply idiosyncratic voice.

🟣 Start here: The Köln Concert, La Scala, Live in Norway (1972)

2. Hania Rani – Minimalism in Bloom – ambient improvisation

Hania Rani represents a new generation of pianists who blend minimalism and ambient music with intuitive, emotionally driven improvisation. Her pieces often emerge from live performance or personal journaling at the piano. With delicate textures, wide use of silence, and an almost cinematic sensitivity, Rani’s improvisations are not about technical display—they’re about atmosphere and emotion, capturing the beauty of restraint.

🟣 Start here: Live at Invalides in Paris, France, Live from Studio S2, On Giacometti

3. Gabriela Montero – Spontaneity with Structure – classical improvisation

In contrast to most other modern classical pianists, Gabriela Montero places improvisation at the center of her craft. Continuing in the footsteps of legendary composers Beethoven and Liszt who improvised throughout their entire musical careers, Montero weaves listener suggestions into fully formed pieces across a range of styles on the spot. Her improvisations show breathtaking sensitivity to structure, depth of emotion, and command of historical idioms, and prove classical improvisation hardly an art lost to the past.

🟣 Start here: Bach and Beyond, Take 1 (album #4), Hong Kong Debut

4. Nils Frahm – Harmonic Drift – minimalist improvisation

German pianist Nils Frahm sits in the middle of ambient music, minimalism, and classical composition. Felted piano is often part of improvisation, and recorded with close-mic intimacy. Frahm's music feels like it occurs in real time—an immersion in his own artistic process. His softly unfolding, slowly evolving pieces invite introspection rather than resolution.

🟣 Start here: Solo, FD live acoustic session, Tripping with Nils Frahm

5. Chick Corea – The Playful Architect – jazz fusion improvisation

Chick Corea was a master of musical architecture—building intricate, spontaneous pieces with space for logic and play. Though mostly acclaimed for his work in fusion and ensembles, his solo piano shows revealed another side: lyrical, humorous, and fantasy-filled. Corea often mixed classical style with jazz phrasing, Spanish rhythms, and even nursery tunes, all bound together by improvisation. His passion at the piano was infectious.

🟣 Start here: Piano Improvisations Vol. 1, Solo Improvisations from Japan

6. Friedrich Gulda – The Rebel Virtuoso – jazz-classical improvisation

Friedrich Gulda was a classically trained virtuoso with little regard for traditional concert norms. He routinely switched between Mozart sonatas and jazz improvisations in the night—and made no apology for it. His solo improvisations blended classical technique, bebop phrasing, and whimsical experimentation. Gulda helped open the door for future generations of pianists to see improvisation as not only acceptable, but important.

🟣 Start here: Chick Corea & Friedrich Gulda: The Meeting (Part I), Zawinul, Hancock & Gulda - Improvisation

7. Aydin Esen – Precision, Speed, and Sonic Complexity – modern jazz improvisation

Aydın Esen can be best described as a pianist's pianist—an improviser of stunning technical skill and harmonic imagination. Trained in both the classical and jazz traditions, Esen's improvisations are lightning-quick, harmonically intricate, and rhythmically unstructured. His music is differentiated by its intricacy and intensity, demanding single-minded attention from both artist and audience.

🟣 Start here: Improvisation No. 3, At A Glance, Improvisation (December 4, 1987)

8. Cecil Taylor – Force of Nature – abstractive improvisation

Cecil Taylor's piano playing was explosive, cerebral, and altogether novel. The chief virtuoso of free jazz, Taylor eschewed traditional forms and harmonic structures for pure expression. His solo improvises normally resembled sound architecture—compact, unscripted, and physically exhausting. More than any other pianist, Taylor approached improvisation as a bold confrontation with the unknown.

🟣 Start here: Indent, Silent Tongues, Air Above Mountains