Alexa Weber Morales was born into a musical family in Berkeley, CA, the daughter of a free lance writer and a university administrator. She was studying classical piano by the age of five and gave her first solo vocal performance at an elementary school recital when she was eight years old. She majored in languages at Bryn Mawr College, where she also performed in theater and cabaret, but dropped out in her sophomore year. Returning to the Bay Area, she worked a series of odd jobs while increasing her visibility on the local music scene. She met and married her husband, a recent arrival from Mexico, which gave her a strong bicultural sense of music. Morales also began work as an editor for a Spanish-language magazine which in turn led to several trips to Brazil and other South American countries; this helped to shape her unique musical style, a mix of salsa, jazz and Brazilian influences. Leaving the magazine, Morales turned her full attention to a music career, releasing the albums Jazzmã©Rica in 2004 and Vagabundeo in 2007, both of which were produced by Wayne Wallace. ~ Steve Leggett