English – Spanish – French – Portuguese

I'm an Oakland jazz salsa singer-songwriter, fluent in a few languages thanks to my itinerant childhood. Since 2004 I've done more than a dozen studio recordings for my own & other bands. In 2010, I sang on the Grammy-nominated Bien! Bien! In 2011, I made a fan-funded CD, and in 2012 my singing/songwriting was on Pacific Mambo Orchestra's debut CD. In 2013, we won a Grammy!

Books
Berklee Press Announces New Jazz Guitar and Bass Titles

Berklee Press Announces New Jazz Guitar and Bass Titles

Berklee Press Announces New Jazz Guitar and Bass Titles Berklee Jazz Bass (HL50449636/$19.99) is written by a power team of past and present Berklee instructors (Rich Appleman, Whit Browne, and Bruce Gertz), who have 120+ years of teaching experience between them. This new title will help students learn the intricacies of playing jazz by expanding basic...
How do you start a truly diverse jazz/improvised music performance collective in Oakland?

How do you start a truly diverse jazz/improvised music performance collective in Oakland?

How would we start a jazz/improvised music performance collective that was truly inclusive and diverse* for performing musicians in Oakland? This is a serious question. I realize that some of these already exist (Oakland Public Conservatory, La Peña, The Sound Room), and there are jams as well, such as the one started by tenor saxophonist...
I can shovel like a man

I can shovel like a man

Hole-digging can be a contemplative exercise. Or so I thought. I was taking my time digging the hole, feeling rather zen about it, when the foreman came and roughly grabbed the shovel from me, then began muscling dirt out of the ground. In five minutes he’d done double what had taken me 15. That’s when...
Book review of 'The Insanity Hoax': You don't have to be a nutty artist!

Book review of ‘The Insanity Hoax’: You don’t have to be a nutty artist!

I recently read Judith Schlesinger’s book The Insanity Hoax: Exposing the Myth of the Mad Genius. What a relief! With a gallivanting, witty writing style, Schlesinger doesn’t just debunk, she pulverizes that annoying meme that mental illness is more common among artists than the general population. Interestingly, every time I’ve brought the book up to...
My new book, Practice Secrets of the Pros, is now available on Amazon!

My new book, Practice Secrets of the Pros, is now available on Amazon!

Now available on Amazon! Practice Secrets of the Pros: Motivation, Method and Memory for Musicians… and Other Athletes by Alexa Weber Morales Kindle edition In 2010, Grammy-nominated latin jazz singer-songwriter Alexa Weber Morales began a quest for pragmatic, inspiring advice about musical mastery. She interviewed experts, researched the techniques of memory champions and dove into...
You don't have be a freak to master music! Q&A with mastery expert K. Anders Ericsson (from my new book!)

You don’t have be a freak to master music! Q&A with mastery expert K. Anders Ericsson (from my new book!)

Since the release of my album I Wanna Work For You, I’ve been writing a book about practicing. More specifically, I wondered how I could finally get better at things that had eluded me despite a lifetime of effort. Were there keys to motivation, method or memory that the virtuosos knew? After much research, I...

New Video Series: Alexa’s Books

Episode 1: Reviewed in brief: The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle The Little Book of Talent by Daniel Coyle The Big-Ass Book of Bling by Mark Montano The Anatomy of Story by John Trudy The Renegade Writer by Linda Formichelli & Diana Burrell Don’t Shoot: The End of Violence in Inner-City America by David Kennedy...
Brainstorm! 10 Toxic Self-Help Books I Would Buy

Brainstorm! 10 Toxic Self-Help Books I Would Buy

I came across this title (Toxic Parents: Overcoming Their Hurtful Legacy and Reclaiming Your Life) and inspired, I brainstormed some potential best-selling self-help book titles: 1. Toxic Losers: Ruthlessly Eliminating Useless Nitwits From Your Life 2. Toxic Reality: Staying Positive When Everything Around You Turns to Shit 3. Toxic Rage: Turning the Bile Within into...
Effortless Mastery, the Myth of Flow and Other Green Room Conversations

Effortless Mastery, the Myth of Flow and Other Green Room Conversations

After making music with them, what I like most about musicians is talking to them. The hang before and after a gig is usually a source of inspiration. Last night was like that. We filed off stage, all 19 of us, either onto the dance floor or into the green room. One thing that’s annoying...
The Amazing Power of Deliberate Intent

The Amazing Power of Deliberate Intent