Alex Skolnick Trio: Prove You're Not a Robot

Few musicians have leapt the chasm between thrash metal and jazz with the audacity and grace of Alex Skolnick. Having made his name with Bay Area thrashers Testament in their Big Four-era ascent, Skolnick's departure from metal in the early '90s was not burnout, but a transformation fueled by his pursuit of a BFA in jazz performance from The New School. Juggling Testament reunions and his progressive jazz-rock project PAKT, his career has long defied easy labels.

The trio's sixth album and first since 2018, arrives as a timely artistic statement, tackling humanity in the digital age while making a potent case for why live musicians still matter.

The nearly eight-minute title track sets an immediate, memorably melodic tone. It commences with Skolnick's smooth, elegant jazz riffing as drummer Matt Zebroski tears into explosive, up-tempo beats and a polyrhythmic solo. Skolnick then cuts loose with a guitar performance that draws equally from his progressive rock past and his advanced jazz training. A clear message is being made here: Real music possesses a breath and spontaneity that computers simply cannot fake. Their take on Tom Petty's "Breakdown" completely reimagines the track, retaining its inherent sadness but injecting a vibrant dose of jazz fire via the leader's Wes Montgomery-style chord voicings and bracing single-note developments. Nathan Peck's upright bass provides an impeccable anchor, granting Skolnick the freedom to explore, while Zebroski demonstrates a masterful awareness of when to add textural color and when to politely stay out of the way.

Recorded at Spain Recording Studios in New York City, the production sound is warm and immediate. Skolnick ensures the texture remains fresh across the eight tracks by switching between vintage axes, including a Roger Sadowsky archtop and a 1935 Gibson. Moreover, "Infinite Hotel" is meticulously constructed with odd time signatures, bop, and pulsating rock grooves, while "The Polish Goodbye" provides a moment of reprieve as a blithe, medium-tempo jazz ballad. Another standout is "Armando's Mood," a delightful Chick Corea / Steve Howe (Yes guitar hero) mashup based on Corea's "Armando's Rumba," the arrangement of which is another testament to Skolnick's compositional skill. The closing track, "Guiding Ethos," brings things back to more melodic ground due to Skolnick's multifaceted chord progressions and a yearning theme.

The album's timing is certainly worth noting. With AI music generators rapidly popping up everywhere, Skolnick is forcefully making a point: This is human music, warts and all. It is about the risk, the spontaneity, and the deep understanding three musicians share that allows them to take those chances together.

Twenty-plus years into their existence, the Alex Skolnick Trio sounds utterly dialed in. This might well be their strongest record yet; it is warm, occasionally challenging, and definitely worth multiple spins. In a world increasingly defined by algorithms and personalized playlists, it serves as a powerful reminder that the best music still happens when people create something truly unique together in the moment.

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