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 affect 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.
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This story is from the Issue 73 edition of Very Interesting.
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