JAZZ COULD BE THE KEY TO UNDERSTANDING QUANTUM PHYSICS
COMMENT
An improvising soloist can play any note they want next. At the quantum level, electrons have a similar freedom
ILLUSTRATION: MATT HOLLAND
My book, The Jazz of Physics, looks at the ways that concepts and research in theoretical physics parallel jazz improvisation and performance. Playing jazz has shaped the way I approach physics and opened me up to appreciating an improvisational style in my research. And jazz continues to effect my research in uniting quantum physics with space-time and quantum gravity.
It all started from a conversation I had with a jazz legend, which has since grown into a collaboration and a new theory. One autumn day in 2012, while I was a professor at Haverford College in Philadelphia, I received a surprising email from Donald Harrison. To many, including myself, Harrison is a living version of iconic bebop saxophonist Charlie Parker. He has played with hundreds of jazz masters and toured with huge names such as Miles Davis and Art Blakey.