EP/57: MUSIC & MATH
The Beautiful Union of Math & Music with Marcus Miller
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The linkage between music and math is not well understood. People tend to think music is creative and math is perhaps the antithesis of the creative arts. But when you think about it, music is full of mathematical concepts: time signatures, sets, loops, patterns and recursion to name a few. There are even studies that show that children who play musical instruments are better at solving complex math problems. Helping us understand the music-math relationship is Marcus Miller.
Born in New Jersey, Marcus grew up in a house full of music. He took up saxophone at age nine and, with the help of renowned saxophonist Bruce Williams, developed a passion that put him on stage professionally at 13. With gifts extending beyond music, he graduated from Harvard with a degree in mathematics. After a short stint at a multibillion dollar hedge fund he moved to New York to pursue music full time. Marcus maintains his interest in mathematics and physics, giving talks, tutoring, and studying independently under scholars at Columbia and Princeton. In addition he works at Math-M-Addicts, a program for NYC children who are extraordinarily gifted in mathematics. He joins us today from New York City.
Marcus is currently stepping into his new role as Music Advisor for the Grace Farms Foundation and is preparing to perform at Carnegie Hall with Jon Batiste in September 2022 and give a public lecture and performance at NYU entitled Geometry, Waves, and Jazz in October 2022. Learn more about Marcus at imaginewithmarcus.com and connect with him on Instagram @imaginewithmarcus.
About MARCUS
Born in New Jersey, Marcus grew up in a house full of music, his father having a massive and varied record collection. Early on he was exposed to artists and composers like John Coltrane, Weather Report, Phillip Glass, Stockhausen, Frank Zappa, Duke Ellington, and Mozart. He took up saxophone at age nine and, with the help of World Renown Saxophonist Bruce Williams (Roy Hargrove, World Saxophone Quartet), developed a passion that put him on stage professionally at 13. With gifts extending beyond the music, he graduated from Harvard University with a degree in Mathematics. After a short stint at a multibillion dollar hedge fund he moved to New York City to Pursue Music. He soon developed a reputation as a versatile and virtuosic player, while studying music production and engineering under Grammy-winning Engineer “Bassy” Bob Brockman (Notorious B.I.G, Herbie Hancock, D'Angelo).
Marcus has taken what he has learned, and built a remarkable career out of it. He is in demand as an saxophonist, songwriter, producer, and engineer in the New York music scene. As a saxophonist, he has performed at the Obama White House, Madison Square Garden with DNCE, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert alongside Jon Batiste, recorded with Benny Blanco and Ryan Tedder, Performed Jazz at major venues like The Blue Note, Dizzy's, and even Carnegie Hall, is a featured performer at the Daybreaker series of Morning Raves, and has toured the world with groups ranging from New Orleans Hot Jazz to Indie Rock. As a songwriter, producer and engineer, he works closely with Av8ted, a creative entrepreneur collective based out of Brooklyn that represents the "New Black Aesthetic." In June of 2016, Marcus appeared in his first play, Playing Hot, performing in speaking roles as Lewis, a member of Buddy Bolden's band, and the Legendary Sidney Bechet. In addition, he speaks on music production and education for the New Jersey Association of Music Educators, was noted as an Artist of Distinction by the state of New Jersey, and has published articles on music and mathematics.
Photo: Anna Yatskevich