Music on the Brain: Jazz, Birds, and the Brain

Music on the Brain

Some birds and other animals learn their songs from their parents in a way that parallels language learning among humans. By exploring what happens in the brains of songbirds, we can gain insight into why babies babble, what makes jazz improvisation so delightful, and how performers gauge the success of their performance.

Harlem Jazz Tour Guide Amanda Humes leads an evening of jazz music and conversation with pianist Bill Buchman and Zuckerman Institute research scientist Dr. George Ordiway of the Woolley Lab. Join us as we examine the fascinating parallels between neuroscience and jazz improvisation.

Music on the Brain is a collaboration between the National Jazz Museum in Harlem and Columbia University’s Zuckerman Institute.

Amanda Humes

Amanda W. Humes is a native of the Commonwealth of Virginia and has lived in NYC for 30 years.  She has her BA in Sociology from Columbia University and worked as a meeting planner for The Conference Board for 10 years.  She then pivoted to a joyful path of a New York City Tour Guide in Harlem and Greenwich Village with Big Apple Jazz Tours, where she has had the pleasure of educating, singing, and sharing Harlem’s history with visitors worldwide for more than 15 years.  She continues to encourage visitors to come and enjoy the culture, food, history, and music as it vibrates through the sidewalks and streets that were traversed by the greats like Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Dizzy Gillespie. She is very honored and pleased to serve as the moderator for this session of Music on the Brain.

George Ordiway

Dr. George Ordiway is a research scientist at Columbia University’s Zuckerman Institute, working in the Woolley Lab. His research explores the neural mechanisms of vocal learning, production, and perception. He earned his PhD from Northwestern University and has dedicated his career to understanding how the brain processes and produces complex vocalizations.

Beyond the lab, Dr. Ordiway is a passionate music enthusiast, with a deep appreciation for all genres—though he is particularly drawn to classical and opera.

Bill Buchman

Bill Buchman is a jazz pianist/bandleader who has performed widely around the US, France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway. His style covers a wide range from bop, soul jazz, Latin, and swing, to down home blues.. Bill has played with jazz greats such as Jo Jones (of Count Basie fame), Bobby Hackett, Red Callender, Alan Dawson, Sammy Rimington, John La Porta, Joe Muranyi, Joe Lee Wilson, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, Per Goldschmidt, Emmanuel Abdul Rahim and Nils “Bert” Dahlander. Bill studied piano at the New England Conservatory of Music and received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees there. Bill did long term studies with Jaki Byard and Ran Blake, two leading exponents of jazz and Third Stream music. Bill also took courses with George Russell, John Lewis, and Joe Maneri, and in more recent times studied and performed Latin music with master drummer/composer Emmanuel Abdul Rahim.