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 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...
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!
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...
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
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
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...