♪ I run for the train with you on my mind.

♪ ♪ I can't escape from you, Dear.

♪ ♪ Circling through my brain.

♪ ♪ Round and around.

♪ ♪ No up or down with you.

♪ ♪ I'm watching the town kaleidoscope by.

♪ ♪ I see you in clouds and treetops.

♪ ♪ Under a dizzy spell.

♪ ♪ Round and around.

♪ ♪ No up or down with you.

♪ ♪ With you.

♪ ♪ Tumbling into the moon.

♪ ♪ Weightless.

♪ ♪ Soaring away like balloons.

♪ ♪ Tumbling through and through.

♪ ♪ Through and through.

Through and... ♪ ♪ With every step I look for a sign.

♪ ♪ To open my heart to you, Dear.

♪ ♪ Maybe you feel it too.

♪ ♪ Maybe you're my kaleidoscope kind of proof.

♪ ♪ ♪ I run for the train with you on my mind.

♪ ♪ I can't escape from you, Dear.

♪ ♪ Tumbling through my head.

♪ ♪ Round and around.

♪ ♪ No up or down with you.

♪ ♪ I'm watching the town kaleidoscope by.

♪ ♪ I see you in clouds and treetops.

♪ ♪ Under a dizzy spell.

♪ ♪ Round and round.

♪ ♪ No up or down.

♪ ♪ With you.

♪ ♪ With you.

♪ ♪ Tumbling into the moon.

♪ ♪ Weightless.

♪ ♪ Tumbling away, like balloons.

♪ ♪ Running through and through.

♪ ♪ Through and through.

Through and... ♪ ♪ With every step, I look for a sign.

♪ ♪ To open my heart to you.

♪ ♪ Maybe you feel it too.

♪ ♪ Maybe you're my kaleidoscope kind of proof.

♪ ♪ Of proof.

♪ ♪ Of proof.

♪ ♪♪ That song was called “Kaleidoscope”, and it was an original song that Cecil and I wrote.

And this next song is called “East of the Sun”.

It's one of our favorite jazz standards.

And just recently, we've kind of, reconfigured it.

♪ ♪ East of the sun, and west of the moon.

♪ ♪ We'll build a dream house of love, Dear.

♪ ♪ Near to the sun in the day.

♪ ♪ Near to the moon at night.

♪ ♪ We're living in a lovely way, Dear.

♪ ♪ Sharing our love in the pale moonlight.

♪ ♪ Just you and I.

♪ ♪ Forever and a day.

♪ ♪ Our love will not die.

♪ ♪ We'll keep it that way.

♪ ♪ Up among the stars we'll find the happiness of light.

♪ ♪ To a lovely tune.

♪ ♪ East of the sun, and west of the moon.

♪ ♪ Dear.

♪ ♪ East of the sun, and west of the moon.

♪ ( ♪ scatting ♪ ) ♪ Just you and I forever and a day.

♪ ♪ Our love will not die.

♪ ♪ We'll keep it that way.

♪ ♪ Up among the stars we'll find the happiness of life.

♪ ♪ To a lovely tune.

♪ ♪ East of the sun and west of the moon.

♪ ♪ Dear.

♪ ♪ East of the sun and west of the moon.

♪ ♪ ...of the moon.

♪ ♪ ...of the moon.

♪♪ This next song is also an original that Cecil and I wrote, called “Me After You”.

♪ I fall in love with a song before the chorus comes along.

♪ ♪ I fall in love with the day before the sun comes out.

♪ ♪ A stranger might call me a fool.

♪ ♪ But this is me after you.

♪ ♪ Now I'm awake late at night.

♪ ♪ Wondering if I'm on your mind.

♪ ♪ You have opened my life into an endless July.

♪ ♪ A stranger might call me a fool.

♪ ♪ But this is me after you.

♪ ♪ I can't escape the thought that you may rearrange my life.

♪ ♪ Oh, I wouldn't mind that at all.

♪ ♪ Your hands around my waist.

♪ ♪ As we gently sway on into the night.

♪ ♪ I cling to your side.

♪ ♪ Don't pass me by.

♪ ♪ ♪ I can't escape the thought.

♪ ♪ That you may rearrange my life.

♪ ♪ Oh, I wouldn't mind that I don't.

♪ ♪ Your hands around my waist, as we gently sway on into the night.

♪ ♪ I cling to your side.

♪ ♪ Don't pass me by.

♪ ♪ I fall in love with a song before the chorus comes along.

♪ ♪ I fall in love with the day before the sun comes out.

♪ ♪ A stranger might call me a fool.

♪ ♪ But there's nothing left here to do.

♪ ♪ I guess that this is the me after you.

♪♪ This next tune, Is a vocalese I wrote on, Bud Powells melody, “Celia.” ♪ ♪ Sometimes I wonder what it must be like to be her.

♪ ♪ To roam a fancy crowds.

♪ ♪ And wear the hippest newest trends.

♪ ♪ I wonder when and if I'll ever get my own chance.

♪ ♪ Luck of the draw.

♪ ♪ Something at all.

♪ ♪ Don't get me wrong, I'm not pretending to be Celia.

♪ ♪ But I might just bring along her picture because I could use some guidance when I go to the salon.

♪ ♪ Is that so wrong?

Because maybe I just need a new look.

♪ ♪ So I can start feeling the part.

♪ ♪ Maybe it's perfect being like Celia.

♪ ♪ And maybe I'm being quite naive.

♪ ♪ Living in daydreams, wishing people thought of me the way they so often think of Celia.

♪ ♪ And who hasn't thought the grass was greener?

♪ ♪ I mean, just who can circumvent being a dreamer?

♪ ♪ And if it's obvious that I lack imagination, well, frankly, I don't care.

♪ ♪ Because really, no one is unique or has mystique, ♪ ♪ Just most of us are following trends trying to blend in, hoping to win, but no one does it quite like Celia.

♪ ♪ Just look how she soaks in the warm stares of strangers.

♪ ♪ There's nothing that could just catapult her off her game or make her overthink each passing, mundane conversation.

♪ ( ♪ scatting ♪ ) ♪ ( ♪ scatting ♪ ) ♪ Sometimes I wonder what it must be like to be her.

♪ ♪ Roam the fancy crowds and wear the hippest newest trends.

♪ ♪ I wonder when and if I'll ever get my own chance.

♪ ♪ Luck of the draw.

♪ ♪ Something at all.

♪ ♪ Don't get me wrong, I'm not pretending to be Celia, but I might just bring along her picture because I could use some guidance when I go to the salon.

♪ ♪ Is that so wrong?

♪ ♪ Because maybe I just need a n so I can start feeling the part.

♪ Maybe it's perfect being like ♪ Maybe I'm being quite naive living in daydreams, wishing people thought of me the way they so often think of Celia.

♪ ♪ And who hasn't thought the grass was greener?

♪ ♪ I mean, just who can circumvent just being a dreamer.

♪ And if it's obvious that I lack imagination, well, frankly, I don't care.

♪ ♪ Because really, no one is unique or has mystique.

♪ ♪ Just most of us are following trends, trying to blend in, hoping to win.

♪ ♪ But no one does it quite like Celia.

♪ ♪ Just look how she soaks in the warm stares of strangers.

♪ ♪ There's nothing that could just catapult her off her game or make her overthink each passing, mundane conversation.

♪ ♪♪ This song is call “Lucky the Magic is You.” And it's also an original.

♪ ♪ There may be storm clouds around you, but we don't see ‘em.

♪ ♪ People have said that youre no good.

♪ ♪ But I don't hear ‘em.

♪ ♪ Sitting inside in July with you.

♪ ♪ Oh, sunshine, who needs it?

♪ ♪ We dance under ladders.

♪ ♪ Abracadabra.

♪ ♪ We will take our chance.

♪ ♪ You are the answer to any disaster.

♪ ♪ I'm in the palm of your hands.

♪ ♪ I have a clue how to love you.

♪ ♪ Oh, I do.

♪ ♪ I'm down on my luck, but I'm spellbound in love.

♪ ♪ So I'm lucky the magic is you.

♪ ♪ ♪ We dance under ladders.

♪ ♪ Abracadabra.

♪ ♪ We will take our chance.

♪ ♪ You are the answer to any disaster.

♪ ♪ I'm in the palm of your hands.

♪ ♪ I have a clue how to love you.

♪ ♪ Oh, I do.

♪ ♪ I'm down on my luck, but I'm spellbound in love.

♪ ♪ So I'm lucky the magic is you.

♪♪ (Andy) We're talking with Cecil and Ari Alexander, a, wonderful couple and duet.

And, we're really pleased to have you here down at KUVO.

You're going to be, touring and, working on the next album.

So how did you two become a duo?

Was it the romance first or the music first?

How did that work out?

(Cecil) Maybe you can answer that.

(Ari) I think I had a little crush on Cecil, back at Berkeley, where we went to like ten, 11 years ago.

So I asked him to join my band at the time, and, Yeah.

And then we became a couple pretty quickly after.

And we've played music together since.

Yeah.

(Andy) Well, it's a wonderful, pairing.

Love what you guys do.

Its really ingenious.

The only time I remember vocal and guitar is Tuck and Patti.

But you guys so don't sound like Tuck and Patti.

You've got a deep musical heritage of singer songwriter in your your family.

Talk about that a little bit.

(Ari) It's more like the lore of it.

Everyone that was a professional musician in my family actually had passed away before I was born, but my grandfather would talk a lot about my grandmother.

She was jazz singer.

My grandmother, Irene.

But her cousin, was Teddy King, who played a lot with, George Shearing.

(Ari) So I kind of just always knew I wanted to do jazz.

I'm also named after my grandmother, so it kind of just drilled into my brain that jazz is the thing, and I love it so much.

Cecil, you were in the prestigious Herbie Hancock Competition.

You were a finalist in that.

(Cecil) I was, yeah.

(Andy) Talk about that a little bit.

How was that?

(Cecil) Yeah, it was a really surreal experience.

Because, you know, coming up in music school in the 2010s like everybody was talking about the, at the time, it was called the Monk Competition.

So it was like, oh, you know, what's the instrument going to be for the Monk Competition this year?

And when guitar was announced, like every guitar player I knew, we were just like messaging each other back and forth, like, are you going to apply or are you going to apply?

And then, you know, once all the applications were in, it did you get in?

Did you get it?

But yeah, it was very surreal just being, getting the opportunity to to play in front of so many of my favorite guitarists of all time, like the judges were John Scofield, Russell Malone, Lee Ritenour, Pat Metheny.

In the final round, I think, Lionel Louke also joined.

So, yeah.

(Andy) Not too intimidating.

(Cecil) Very intimidating.

(Andy) Wow.

(Cecil) But yeah, it was just also a really good opportunity to get to meet a lot of, you know, really like amazing musicians that are my age.

And, it's been cool to see where their careers have gone.

(Andy) So after the tour, what's next for you guys?

Working as a duo some more, or with the band or... What's in the future for you two?

(Ari) We're finishing up our duo record, this next month, and then we have a quartet record we're recording, and the quartet tour in August and September, I think.

(Andy) Well that's great.

We're really happy that you came down.

(Ari) Thank you for having us.

(Andy) Welcome to Colorado.

Glad you're, having a great time here.

And again, weve been talking with Cecil and Ari Alexander.

Well, be sure to get out and see them whenever you can.

And, it was really a joy to listen to you, two play.

(both) Thank you, thank you, and