Margins
All That AI Jazz book cover
All That AI Jazz
2025
First Published
181
Number of Pages

All That AI Jazz follows two high school musicians taking radically different approaches to understanding music's power, whose paths ultimately converge in a collaboration that transcends both analysis and intuition. Eddy Marino is a senior multi-instrumentalist—equally skilled on drums, organ, and guitar—who experiences music as pure sensation and texture. Where Luke sees frequencies and ratios, Eddy feels the breath of the trumpet, the touch of the keyboard, the percussion in his chest. Painfully shy despite his good looks and exceptional talent, Eddy has spent his musical life on the sidelines, serving as a session musician and substitute player for various groups. His mentor, retired professor Mr. Scott, recognizes Eddy's gift for intuitive understanding but worries that his reticence prevents him from finding his own artistic voice. Luke Gregory is a brilliant but socially awkward junior who believes music's greatness can be reverse-engineered through mathematical analysis. Driven by a need to control and understand, he embarks on a year-long project analyzing six decades of popular music, creating comprehensive frameworks for harmonic progression, rhythmic patterns, and production techniques. He forms The Autumn Leaves with vocalist Lucy Sanders, who becomes both his romantic interest and his philosophical counterweight, constantly challenging him to value emotional presence over analytical optimization. The story unfolds over the academic year leading to the Massachusetts High School Battle of the Bands. Luke's analytical journey through musical decades becomes increasingly sophisticated but also increasingly sterile—he can describe why music works without creating anything that truly moves people. Their paths cross Eddy observes Luke's band practices, offering suggestions that are initially ignored but gradually recognized as valuable. Luke notices Eddy playing with multiple groups and becomes curious about how someone can be so musically versatile without apparent analytical framework. Their interactions force each to question their assumptions—Luke realizes that Eddy's "intuition" is actually a sophisticated form of embodied analysis, while Eddy discovers that Luke's mathematics reveal structures Eddy has been feeling but never consciously understood. The parallel narratives converge when Zoey Williams—a singer-songwriter preparing a deeply personal song about her immigrant grandmother—asks both Luke and Eddy for help. For Battle of the Bands, Luke's Autumn Leaves and Eddy's newly formed ensemble (The Sideliners, featuring musicians who've all played supporting roles) both compete. But the real victory comes when they realize that Zoey's stripped-down performance—informed by both their approaches—creates the most powerful emotional impact of the competition. In the end, both Luke and Eddy receive recognition not for winning but for Luke for his analytical integration, Eddy for finally finding his voice.

Author

H. Peter Alesso
H. Peter Alesso
Author · 23 books

I love words, but that wasn't always true. I grew up with a talent for numbers, leading me to follow a different path. I went to Annapolis and MIT and became a nuclear physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Only after I retired was my desire to tell stories reawakened. In recent years, I have immersed myself in the world of words, drawing on my scientific knowledge and personal experience to shape my writing. As a scientist, I explored physics and technology, which enabled me to create informative and insightful books, sharing my knowledge with readers who sought to expand their understanding in these areas—contributing to their intellectual growth while satisfying my own passion. But it was my time as a naval officer that ignited my imagination and propelled me into science fiction. After graduating from the United States Naval Academy and serving on nuclear submarines during both hot and cold wars, I witnessed firsthand the complexities and challenges of military operations that seamen face daily. This allowed me a unique perspective, which I channeled into creating Henry Gallant and a 22nd-century world where a space officer fought against invading aliens. Through this narrative, I explored the depths of human resilience, the mysteries of space, and the intricacies of military conflict. My stories let me share the highlights of my journey with you. I hope you enjoy the ride. (www.hpeteralesso.com) H. Peter Alesso Amazon Author Page" https://www.amazon.com/H.-Peter-Aless... 'The Henry Gallant Sage' Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TheHenryGall... website: https://www.ai-hive.net/

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