About this Event
Alex Skolnick Trio
Saturday, November 22nd
Doors @ 8pm, Music @ 9pm
$30 GA Adv // $40 Preferred Adv
THE ALEX SKOLNICK TRIO
Beginning in the early 2000’s, AST has become known for catapulting the jazz guitar
trio format into new and interesting territory. With an unconventionally wide fluidity of
diverse styles (tango, calypso, Western swing, electronica, Prince-inspired funk, to
name just a few), the trio gained notoriety for it’s quirky but respectful arrangements of
songs previously unmined by improvisers, including by the likes of Aerosmith,
Scorpions, Ozzy Osbourne and Kiss.
Comfortable in blurring the stylings of Wes Montgomery with Black Sabbath, Mssrs.
Alex Skolnick (guitar and vocals), Matt Zebroski (drums), Nathan Peck (acoustic
standup bass) are stellar virtuoso artists who thrive on playing challenging music in
front of their fans. As a headliner, AST has enthralled audiences in at the Larvik Guitar
Festival in Norway, the World Guitar Festival in Quebec as well as in Italy, The
Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, and Austria. The audiences
are made up of jazz aficionados and metal heads wanting to see what the lead guitarist
from the thrash metal band Testament is up to. Their music has been heard in
promotions for National Public Radio and more. Among their fans are Rodrigo Y
Gabriela, who have brought the trio out as a support act at venues including Paris’s
The Olympia, London’s Shepard Bush Empire and New York’s Radio City Music Hall.
Conceived as a sharp three piece ensemble uniquely inspired by the musical
wanderings of Alex Skolnick, world-renowned lead guitarist and founding member of
Testament, one of the most influential metal/thrash bands of all time. Yet those unaware
of Testament are shocked by his backstory when hearing AST – or Alex’s work with
PAKT featuring Percy Jones (Brand X/Brian Eno), Stuart Hamm (Steve Vai/Joe
Satriani) – as his guitar work defies the odds of most with guitarists with similarly
metallic associations. He also has the profound distinction of being one of the more
successful breakout individual students of uber-guitar-hero Joe Satriani. Along with
Charlie Hunter, Steve Vai, Kirk Hammett (Metallica) and Larry Lalonde (Primus).
Since the debut, AST had had an entire Jazz notes column in Billboard, garnered 4 ½
stars by Downbeat, reviewed by Jazziz, The Village Voice and has charted on the
JazzWeek radio charts. Apple Music frequently features the group in its Spectrum
playlist, with notable other jazz crossover artists such as Snarky Puppy, Mike Stern and
Marcus Miller. Most recently the Trio enjoyed its status amongst the greats as an NPR
Jazz Daily Pick feature. A perfect description comes in the form of a review by
Downbeat journalist Bill Milkowski (well known for his bio on Jaco Pastorious Jaco):
“Skolnick runs the guitaristic gamut from lush chord melodies to Wes Montgomery-style
octaves to screaming Sonny Sharrock-esque skronking” (Jan 2017).
Line-Up:
Alex Skolnick (Testament, Stu Hamm, PAKT, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Jane Getter
Premonition): GUITAR
Matt Zebroski: DRUMS
Nathan Peck (Maynard Ferguson, Maria Maldaur, Richard Cheese): BASS
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Nietzsche's, 248 Allen Street, Buffalo, United States
USD 33.85 to USD 44.52
