Self-taught, Raphaël Imbert enrolled in the Jazz class of the CNR of Marseille, held by Philippe Renault, and met the regional musicians with whom he played most regularly (Emile Atsas, Jean-Luc Difraja, Vincent Lafont, Pierre Fenichel...). With Jean-Jacques Élangué, he won the first prize of the conservatory and set up two groups, the Hemlé orchestra and the Atsas Imbert Consort, with which he performed in numerous festivals (Vienne, Nice, Fiesta des Suds, Théâtre des Salins...).

In contact with these musicians, he cultivates his taste for composition and the most eclectic musical situations. More personally, he develops a vision of music and Jazz linked to the intrinsic spirituality that represents the musical approach of the Jazzman. To this end, he founded the Nine Spirit to play the sacred music of Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Albert Ayler and others, and to create shows inspired by evocative texts and which present the narrative as a musical element in its own right (this will be Theodore Monod, Amadou Hampatê Bâ, Martin Luther King...).

In addition, Raphaël developed a study project on the Sacred in Jazz, and became a laureate of the Villa Médicis Hors Les Murs. He was a member of the board of directors of the Orchestre National de Jazz from 2004 to 2007 and won the 28th National Jazz Competition of La Défense in June 2005. Raphaël Imbert also composes for cinema and television for the projects of Philippe Carrese and Isabelle Boni-Claverie.

He developed the BACH COLTRANE project with André Rossi and the Manfred Quartet, the album sold more than 12,000 copies, and since then, in addition to concerts, he has developed an improvisation method for chamber music ensembles, which he proposes to Musique en Voutes and ProQuartet. In 2005, the Nine Spirit became the Compagnie Nine Spirit, an administrative and artistic structure capable of developing his ideas and those of associated artists, such as the singer and composer Marion Rampal.

Since 2004, Raphaël Imbert has been a student at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) under the direction of Jean Jamin, and as such has been sent on a study trip to the south of the USA, as part of the IMPROTECH project, financed by the ANR, in partnership with the CNRS, the IRCAM and the LAHIC.