Musical Improvisation and the Academy

Academic interest in musical improvisation has increased signifcantly in recent years. This is evidenced not only by the increasing number of publications focused on improvisation, but also by the growing number of improvisers to have received academic appointments at major universities. In this essay, I examine the changing historical relationships between musical improvisation and the academy, as well as some of the implications of those relationships for both the academy and the feld of musical improvisation itself.