FourOneOne and Sound+Science join in celebration of producer, bassist, and author Melvin Gibbs’ new book How Black Music Took Over The World, which will be published by Basic Books on April 14th. Gibbs will discuss the book and related topics with Stephon Alexander, theoretical cosmologist, jazz musician, and author of The Jazz of Physics and Fear of a Black Universe. This event kicks off FourOneOne’s multi-part residency with Gibbs, which explores the themes of the book through a series of conversations and live performances. 

In How Black Music Took Over the World, Gibbs discusses the musical inheritance of Africa. Beginning with two rhythmic building blocks he calls the cell and the frame, Gibbs shows how those tools can transport listeners to “a realm where sounds become vehicles for human movement.” Reforged in the African diaspora in the Americas, they are played today on church organs, electric guitars, computers, telephones, or a simple gourd. Kool & the Gang called Black musicians the “scientists of sound”—and Gibbs shows how they discovered the world’s music.     

Publishers Weekly has called the book “a stimulating take on the complexities and influence of a rich and multifaceted musical tradition.” The Brooklyn Rail wrote, “it is an illuminating and comprehensive story. It is great Black musicology.”

Long time friends and collaborators, Gibbs and Alexander co-lead the musical group God Particle. Taking inspiration from the Philip Glass Ensemble’s explorations of scientific themes, Gibbs has also sought creative and scientific advice from Alexander on a series of extended musical compositions. The newest of these works, Nzambici, will be performed in June by Kulunga Sound Ensemble, a group of creative musicians selected by Gibbs and Alexander, as part of Gibbs’ residency with FourOneOne.