While the Moth StorySlam is the only show that draws all its performers from a lottery and judges it as a competition, other shows in the city feature unique components, such as adhering to a specific theme or mixing in improvisation, music, fiction and audience participation.

BBC: New York stories

Although the main performance practice of Iranian traditional music unfolds through improvisation according to the mood of the performer and in response to the audience, musicians spend years learning to master the radif as the set of musical tools for their performances and compositions.

UNESCO: Intangible Cultural Heritage

Having been schooled in piano improvisation at USC's Thorton School of Music, Eldar has released three albums on Sony Classical.

NPR: Eldar: Complex Improvisation

Although no recordings of Buddy Bolden exist today, his music is said to have incorporated the improvisation characteristic of jazz.

BBC: The birthplace of jazz

Mr. RUBALCABA: We're talking about the Cuban music influence, the classical training, the just improvisation, defined in some way my musical personality.

NPR: Pianist Returns to Cuba's Forbidden Music

With strong roots in the tradition of improvisation, jazz continues to evolve, collecting accents from Afropop, Latin dance music, eastern classical music, and pretty much every other music it comes into contact with, all while transforming other genres around the world.

BBC: The birthplace of jazz