'AI artists' perform improvised music at Jarasum Jazz Festival

AI models developed by a KAIST research team led by professor Nam Ju-han performed improvised jazz with human artists in Gapyeong County, Gyeonggi Province, from Oct. 9 to 11. At the 23rd Jarasum Jazz Festival, 12 human musicians collaborated with AI across 26 pieces in 12 performances. The team demonstrated AI that listens to live performances and generates solos or accompaniment in real time. The project aims to develop AI as a musical partner rather than merely a performance tool.

The AI pianist Scott compared live performances with sheet music, generated solos based on musicians’ melodies and rhythms, and controlled a Yamaha Disklavier through real key and pedal movements.

DeepPocket generated piano, bass and drum accompaniment while continuously adjusting to performers’ notes, rhythms and tempo without prior preparation.

An augmented reality character representing a pianist was overlaid on live camera footage using movement data from simulated hand motions.

The research team previously demonstrated AI-adjusted piano accompaniment during soprano Sumi Jo’s performance in 2023.

Published Oct 16, 2026 11:05 am KST

Updated Oct 16, 2026 11:43 am KST

Jazz pianist Heo Dae-uk, left, and artificial intelligence (AI) pianist Scott perform during the 23rd Jarasum Jazz Festival, held in Gapyeong County, Gyeonggi Province, from Oct. 9 to 11. Courtesy of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology

Artificial intelligence (AI) models developed by a research team led by Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) professor Nam Ju-han made their debut at one of Korea’s leading jazz festivals, performing improvised jazz alongside human artists.

According to the university Friday, the team showcased human-AI music collaboration technology that analyzes the flow of human performances in real time, allowing AI to take over performances or generate improvised accompaniment during the 23rd Jarasum Jazz Festival, held in Gapyeong County, Gyeonggi Province, from Oct. 9 to 11.

A total of 12 human jazz artists participated in the event, collaborating with AI in 26 pieces across 12 performances.

The technology is different from existing music AI services as it enables collaboration with human musicians in jazz, a genre characterized by improvisation.

Jazz musicians often change the tempo or create new melodies based on how they feel in the moment. Because the same piece can be performed differently each time, musicians must listen to one another and adjust their playing accordingly. For AI to participate in jazz performances, it must go beyond playing precomposed music and be able to listen to human musicians and respond to changes in their performances.

A screen shows the augmented reality character of artificial intelligence pianist Scott during a performance with jazz pianist Heo Dae-uk during the 23rd Jarasum Jazz Festival, held in Gapyeong County, Gyeonggi Province, from Oct. 9 to 11. Courtesy of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology

The team showcased two AI models — a pianist model called Scott and accompanist DeepPocket.

Scott compared human musicians' performances with sheet music in real time to take over at appropriate moments and generate new solos reflecting the melodies and rhythms of the musicians.

The music generated by Scott was transmitted to a Yamaha Disklavier acoustic reproducing piano, which played the music through actual key and pedal movements. On stage, an augmented reality character was overlaid on live camera footage using movement data generated by technology that simulates a pianist's hand movements.

DeepPocket analyzed the work of human musicians and generated piano, bass and drum accompaniment in real time, adjusting to their notes, rhythms and tempo. It produced music alongside pianists and guitarists without any prior preparation, continuously adapting to their playing style.

In 2023, the research team showcased AI technology that adjusted the timing of piano accompaniment during a performance by soprano Sumi Jo. This time, the team took the technology a step further, enabling AI to generate its own solos and accompaniment on a jazz stage.

“The performances demonstrated that AI can listen to human musicians and create music alongside them by responding to the flow of their performances, marking a significant advance from simply playing predefined music,” Nam said. “We will continue our research to develop AI into a musical partner that can exchange creative inspiration with human musicians, rather than simply serving as a tool.”

由韩国科学技术院（KAIST）南柱汉教授领导的研究团队开发的AI模型于10月9日至11日在京畿道加平郡与人类音乐家合作，进行了一场即兴爵士乐表演。在第23届Jarasum爵士音乐节上，12位音乐家与AI合作，在12场演出中演奏了26首曲目。该团队展示了能够聆听现场演奏并实时生成独奏或伴奏的AI。该项目旨在将AI发展成为音乐伙伴，而不仅仅是表演工具。

人工智能钢琴家 Scott 将现场演奏与乐谱进行比较，根据音乐家的旋律和节奏生成独奏，并通过真实的琴键和踏板动作控制雅马哈 Disklavier 钢琴。

DeepPocket 无需事先准备，即可生成钢琴、贝斯和鼓的伴奏，并不断根据演奏者的音符、节奏和速度进行调整。

利用模拟手部动作的运动数据，将代表钢琴家的增强现实角色叠加到实时摄像机画面上。

该研究团队此前曾在 2023 年女高音歌唱家赵秀美的演出中演示了人工智能调整后的钢琴伴奏。

发布于2026年10月16日上午11:05（韩国标准时间）

更新于2026年10月16日上午11:43（韩国标准时间）

爵士钢琴家许大旭（左）和人工智能（AI）钢琴家Scott在10月9日至11日于京畿道加平郡举行的第23届Jarasum爵士音乐节上演出。图片由韩国科学技术院提供。

由韩国科学技术院 (KAIST) 教授南柱汉领导的研究团队开发的人工智能 (AI) 模型在韩国顶尖爵士音乐节之一上首次亮相，与人类艺术家一起表演即兴爵士乐。

据该大学周五表示，该团队在10月9日至11日于京畿道加平郡举行的第23届Jarasum爵士音乐节上展示了人机音乐协作技术，该技术能够实时分析人类表演的流程，使人工智能能够接管表演或生成即兴伴奏。

共有 12 位人类爵士乐艺术家参与了此次活动，与人工智能合作完成了 12 场演出中的 26 首乐曲。

这项技术与现有的音乐人工智能服务不同，因为它能够与人类音乐家合作演奏爵士乐，而爵士乐是一种以即兴演奏为特征的音乐类型。

爵士乐手经常根据即兴感受改变节奏或创作新的旋律。由于同一首乐曲每次演奏都可能有所不同，乐手们必须互相聆听，并据此调整演奏。人工智能要想参与爵士乐演奏，就必须超越演奏预先创作好的乐曲，能够聆听人类乐手的演奏，并对他们演奏中的变化做出反应。

在10月9日至11日于京畿道加平郡举行的第23届Jarasum爵士音乐节上，屏幕上显示了人工智能钢琴家Scott的增强现实角色，他与爵士钢琴家许大旭同台演出。图片由韩国科学技术院提供。

该团队展示了两个人工智能模型——钢琴家模型 Scott 和伴奏者模型 DeepPocket。

斯科特将人类音乐家的演奏与乐谱实时对比，在适当的时候接管演奏，并生成反映音乐家旋律和节奏的新独奏。

斯科特创作的音乐被传输到一台雅马哈Disklavier自动钢琴，钢琴通过真实的琴键和踏板动作演奏出音乐。在舞台上，一个增强现实角色被叠加到实时摄像机拍摄的画面上，该画面使用的技术模拟了钢琴家的手部动作并生成相应的动作数据。

DeepPocket 分析了人类音乐家的演奏，并实时生成钢琴、贝斯和鼓的伴奏，根据他们的音符、节奏和速度进行调整。它无需任何事先准备即可与钢琴家和吉他手一起创作音乐，并不断适应他们的演奏风格。

2023年，该研究团队展示了人工智能技术，该技术能够调整女高音歌唱家赵秀美演唱时钢琴伴奏的节奏。这一次，该团队将这项技术更进一步，使人工智能能够在爵士乐舞台上生成自己的独奏和伴奏。

“这些演出表明，人工智能能够聆听人类音乐家的演奏，并根据他们的演奏节奏与他们共同创作音乐，这标志着人工智能在演奏预设音乐的基础上取得了显著进步，”南教授表示。“我们将继续研究，将人工智能发展成为能够与人类音乐家交流创作灵感的音乐伙伴，而不仅仅是作为一种工具。”