Jazz Music and Physics Have a Lot More in Common Than You Think

Jazz Music and Physics Have a Lot More in Common Than You Think. I'm surprised.

It might not seem like music has much to do with cutting-edge physics at first glance. In his new book, The Jazz of Physics: The Secret Link Between Music and the Structure of the Universe, Brown University physics professor Stephon Alexander argues that using music as an analogy can shed light on some of the deepest mysteries in cosmology.

Alexander is not your typical physicist. Born in Trinidad and raised in the Bronx, he developed twin passions for jazz and physics at an early age. As a graduate student, he played the saxophone in jazz clubs and mastered Einstein’s equations. It’s a unique perspective that informs his approach to both; for instance, he views John Coltrane’s seminal Giant Steps album (1960), with its trademark ‘sheets of sound,’ as the ‘sonic equivalent to Einstein’s bending of the space-time fabric.’ Gizmodo caught up with Alexander to learn more about this hidden link.