The Alex Skolnick Trio was born in 2001. A heavy metal guitar hero with the San Francisco based group Testament, Alex had decided to leave the Bay Area, move to New York, soak up the jazz scene and go back to school to earn his music degree from New School University. It was here that he met a young drum prodigy named Matt 'Zebar' Zebroski who, as it turned out, had been a Testament fan as a youth in Pittsburgh.
The two began rehearsing regularly, practicing standards and reviewing homework assignments. Within a few months, they hit upon a magic formula: songs of their youth, reharmonized and revamped to incorporate high level modern improvisation. A short time later, the trio had versions of Kiss, Aerosmith, Ozzy Osbourne, the Who and more, as well as original compositions and were covering a wide range of musical styles: swing, funk, Latin and moments of John McLaughlin/Jimi Hendrix/Miles Davis inspired intensity.
The next trio release was in "Transformation", the group's debut for major indy label Magnatude, and the first with new bassist Nathan Pack. 'Transformation' continued the the concept of the first album, with arrangements of music by Deep Purple, Judas Priest, Pink Floyd and others, but also placed more emphasis on the groups growing repertoire of original compositions. Great reviews followed, including Jambands.com who said 'By taking charge and writing more originals tunes on this album than the first offering, the group has been able to grow exponentially.' AllAboutJazz.com compared Skolnick to jazz/rock pioneer Larry Coryell: 'Like Coryell, Skolnick demonstrates that translating the energy of rock to a jazz context can be a more subtle thing, showing that you can imbue more traditional trappings of swing, modal playing and richer harmony with an edge that doesn't spoil their essential purity. “Transformation” is a surprising record that succeeds on many levels and proves that it is indeed possible to shift gears mid-career and sound like you've been doing it all your life.'
- 1. Transformation
- 2. Electric Eye
- 3. Fear Of Flying
- 4. Money
- 5. Both Feet In
- 6. Scorch
- 7. Blackout
- 8. IMV/The Trooper
- 9. No Fly Zone
- 10. Don't Talk To Strangers
- 11. Highway Star
