By Jeff Potter | Published December 2018
During his tenure with metal band Testament, Alex Skolnick earned guitar-hero status. But since 2001, he’s taken a left turn, forming a jazz trio. Skolnick’s attention to sound and touch is of note in this newer group, especially given his previous work.
Favoring a shimmering, crystalline sound, Skolnick employs an array of axes, including solidbody and hollowbody electrics, among others. The trio’s initial works explored jazz treatments of classic metal repertoire. And it wasn’t a gimmick: Skolnick proved those tunes to be intriguing canvases for improvisation. And on Conundrum, the guitarist emphasizes his own originals and his fine compositional skills. Open-eared drummer Matt Zebroski swings and rocks as called. But the unsung hero here is bassist Nathan Peck. Playing primarily upright, Peck rallies the collective power, but also injects a fat acoustic sound that lubricates the ensemble’s phrasing and timbre. The bandleader covers a lot of ground, including the gorgeous chordal work and fingerpicking of “Unbound” and the lovely atmospherics of “Key Of Sea.” On the finale, “Protect The Dream,” Skolnick finally erupts into over-driven interplanetary shredding. After all, there’s nothing wrong with shredding; it’s about knowing where and why to do it. And Skolnick knows precisely that.
Conundrum: Unbound; Django Tango; Conundrum; Gymnopédie, No. 1; Culture Shock; Dodge The Bambula; Key Of Sea; A Question Of Moral Ambiguity; Protect The Dream. (54:50)
Personnel: Alex Skolnick, guitar; Nathan Peck, bass; Matt Zebroski, drums.
