I’m particularly fond of Ambient 4: On Land. But some precedents are Wendy Carlos’ “Sonic Seasonings “, Holger Czukay/Rolf Dammer’s “Canaxis” (1968), and my particular favorite, maybe the very first:
Ken Nordine’s “Sound Museum”, from Word Jazz (19655/6).
The Wendy Carlos Sonic Seasonings is a good one. Not familiar with Ken Nordine’s Sound Museum, will check into that particular one.
One I go back to frequently is Terry Riley’s “A Rainbow in Curved Air”
“A Rainbow in Curved Air” is fantastic. But it’s way too busy to be considered ambient.
Interesting - never thought of Sonic Seasonings - which I also bought when it came out on vinyl (all there was!) as Ambient. And she was still Walter at that point, as I recall. Didn’t really get hip to Nordine until I moved to Chicago in the 80’s, where he was an Institution.
No, she wasn’t. The transition occurred when she made $$$ after “Switched-on Bach”. But it was still held privately until the Playboy interview in the late 70s.
It’s the MOST masterful album done on a Moog. And what would it be? Environmental sounds with music = ambient.
Now you’ve reminded me of Curved Air, being one of the opening acts for the first ‘major’ show I ever saw live, being 15 at the time. ELP on the Tarkus tour. Loudest band ever at that time, thought the Eastown in Detroit was going to Lift Off from its foundations. Forget if Stewart Copeland was the drummer at that point. Or at least didn’t know, as The Police were way in the Future at that point ; ).
I don’t think Copland was ever in the band. Andy Summers was.
The Crux of the Biscuit is the Apostrophe
Eno has listed Miles Davis’ “He Loved Him Madly” as an inspiration for his ambient work.
Nuh-uh. Pretty sure he was. But Sonja was a 15-year old’s dream at the time:
Mid-70’s, “Airborne” and Midnight Wire" albums.
I guess - in retrospect. Just as a lot of what we just called Rock 'n Roll is now considered, “Metal”
Nobody calls Canaxis ambient either. But Brian hisself credits “Boat Woman Song” as an early influence on him re: ambient music.
Qobuz. HR?, More Freiburger Telemann, but this time his complete Table Music. Good music played well, but it sounds more like good CD quality than HiRes to me. It is a 4 CD set and after a couple of hours I think I am going to have to take a break. You can have too much of a good thing.
I agree. She was distinctly fanciable. 
