Do musical improvisation and mathematics research have anything in common? A public jazz performance and mathematics discussion with Rob Schneiderman

"Mathematics is not only a solo gig. When two or three mathematicians get together to share their ideas on how to attack a problem, sessions can easily stretch out for hours and even days. The dynamic is not unlike jazz musicians improvising with each spurring the other to go farther than they would go alone." Rob Schneiderman, New York based mathematician, regular guest at the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics, and professional Jazz pianist together with John Goldsby (bass) and Hans Dekker (drums) will explore the relations between Jazz & Math in a public concert and an open discussion. (Free admission)

Rob Schneiderman was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and raised in California. His Jazz career began in San Diego playing piano for visiting soloists such as Eddie Harris or Harold Land. A move to New York in 1982 led to performing and touring experience with famous jazz musicians like Chet Baker, James Moody and Clifford Jordan, including trips to Europe and Japan. Rob Schneiderman has released several recordings as leader for the Reservoir Music label. These CDs contain over twenty Schneiderman originals as well as arrangements of many standards.

As a jazz educator, Rob Schneiderman taught as an adjunct professor in the Jazz departments of both William Paterson University and Queens College New York in addition  to giving numerous workshops and teaching many students privately. He has also been on the faculty of The Jazz School in Berkeley.

In May 2001 Rob Schneiderman received a Ph.D. in Mathematics. After stints at the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in Bonn, the Courant Institute at New York University, and the University of Pennsylvania, he is currently on the faculty of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at Lehman College, City University of New York. His area of interest is Low-dimensional Topology.  

John Goldsby has been a member of the Westdeutscher Rundfunk Big Band (also known as the WDR Big Band or the Cologne Radio Big Band) since 1994. He was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. He played piano, guitar and electric bass before taking up the double bass at the age of 18. From 1980 to 1994, John Goldsby lived in New York City and was a fixture on the jazz scene there. He continues to contribute to the art form as a bassist, bandleader, composer, teacher, clinician and author. During his years in New York, he recorded with many world-class musicians, including Scott Hamilton, Mel Lewis, John Lewis, and the American Jazz Orchestra.

John Goldsby is well-known as a jazz educator and currently teaches at the Folkwang-Hochschule in Essen. He has also taught at the Cologne Musikhochschule, William Paterson College, Long Island University, and Columbia University. He has given jazz workshops all over the world and has written several books on jazz bass techniques.  

Hans Dekker was born in Boekelo in the Netherlands and began to play the drums at the age of nine. He was introduced to jazz music by his father, who took him to an Art Blakey concert. After high school, Hans Dekker studied at the Amsterdam Academy of Music and started working with well-known Dutch and German musicians and orchestras. He plays regularly with famous jazz musicians, such as Scott Hamilton, Bob Brookmeyer, Dee Dee Bridgewater and world class ensembles, such as the Metropole Orchestra, Brussels Jazz Orchestra, Dutch Jazz Orchestra, and Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw.

Hans Dekker has been on the faculty at the Institute of Arts in Enschede since 1995. He was a regular visiting instructor at the German Federal Jazz Orchestra (Bundesjazzorchester). Since 2005 is a member of the WDR Big Band.