The Jazz of Physics, Stephon Alexander
The Jazz of Physics, Stephon Alexander
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The Jazz of Physics
The Secret Link Between Music and the Structure of the Universe

Author: Stephon Alexander

Narrator: Don Hagen

Unabridged: 7 hr 38 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Ascent Audio

Published: 06/01/2016


Synopsis

More than fifty years ago, John Coltrane drew the twelve musical notes in a circle and connected them by straight lines, forming a five-pointed star. Inspired by Einstein, Coltrane had put physics and geometry at the core of his music. Physicist and jazz musician Stephon Alexander returns the favor, using jazz to answer physics’ most vexing questions about the past and future of the universe.

Following the great minds that first drew the links between music and physics—a list including Pythagoras, Kepler, Newton, Einstein, and Rakim—The Jazz of Physics revisits the ancient realm where music, physics, and the cosmos were one. This cosmological journey accompanies Alexander’s own tale of struggling to reconcile his passion for music and physics, from taking music lessons as a boy in the Bronx to studying theoretical physics at Imperial College, London’s inner sanctum of string theory. Playing the saxophone and improvising with equations, Alexander uncovered the connection between the fundamental waves that make up sound and the fundamental waves that make up everything else. As he reveals, the ancient poetic idea of the “music of the spheres,” taken seriously, clarifies confounding issues in physics.

Whether you are more familiar with Brian Greene or Brian Eno, John Coltrane or John Wheeler, the Five Percent Nation or why the universe is less than five percent visible, there is a new discovery every minute. Covering the entire history of the universe from its birth to its fate, its structure on the smallest and largest scales, The Jazz of Physics will fascinate and inspire anyone interested in the mysteries of our universe, music, and life itself.

Reviews

Goodreads review by David on June 10, 2017

I am a physicist, and I love jazz (and try to play it occasionally), so this book strongly appealed to me! Moreover, my officemate knew the author personally, so that made the book doubly attractive to me. The book is not well organized by topic; it reads very much like the author's memoirs. Which is......more

Goodreads review by Javier on September 26, 2017

Es un libro interesante para ver aspectos comunes de física y música. Por mi parte quizás cae demasiado en la experiencia personal del autor y justo cuando parece que el libro se pone interesante porque habla de algún aspecto profundo de su temática, se diluye. Me quedé con ganas de más física y men......more

Goodreads review by Rick on July 09, 2020

I see a lot of negative reviews for this book, most of which boil down to "This book was not what I expected it to be." Fortunately, I didn't go in with many expectations. I like Jazz; I like Math; I'm a total novice in the realm of Physics. So I was hoping to hear a bit about all three, and I did.......more

Goodreads review by LeeAnn on June 29, 2016

Had I wanted to know all about Stephon Alexander and his career trajectory, I would have loved this book.......more

Goodreads review by Lee on September 08, 2016

If you're a jazz musician, you've already grasped the idea that jazz is somewhat of a science harmonically, primarily arising from the symmetries inherent in Equal Temperament. As a physicist you might also be curious about the connection between the two domains. Ergo, the book might be more interes......more