The inventive art of improvisation might seem far removed from the logical world of computer science. Nevertheless, professor Robert Keller recently found a way to link his lifelong passion for jazz to his work as a computer scientist.
    
With the help of five HMC students, Keller developed a software program—dubbed the Improvisation Advisor, or “Impro-Visor,” for short—that allows jazz musicians to compose and listen to “improvised” solos.

Keller, the Csilla and Walt Foley professor of computer science and founder and director of HMC’s Computer Science Clinic, says there are clear connections between jazz and computer science.

“There’s a kind of logic to playing jazz,” says. “Most professionals I’ve encountered would say that the less you think while you’re performing, the better. That is generally true. But in preparing the performance, you need to think about the structure of the song and the chord changes.”

Keller’s interest in music began at the age of 10, when his father brought home a cornet from a pawnshop. He played trumpet from junior high through college before entering a self-imposed musical hiatus for 20 years. “Playing trumpet in an apartment didn’t seem very sociable,” he says.
    
When Keller started teaching at HMC, his interest in music was rekindled by a student jazz band performance. “I thought, I can do that,” recalls Keller, who maintains a comprehensive jazz website. “So I started performing with some students, and my involvement kept growing.”

Along with his computer science courses and clinic projects, Keller teaches a course in modern jazz improvisation, which focuses on a different composer each term.