TESTAMENT Guitarist SKOLNICK: 'I Don't See Myself As Limited To One Style'

September 19, 2006

Rod Harmon of HeraldTribune.com reports that TESTAMENT guitarist Alex Skolnick has done the seemingly impossible: Married traditional jazz with heavy metal.

"What really got me interested in jazz was seeing Miles Davis with an electric band (on television)," Skolnick said. "At the time, I didn't even realize it was jazz. I studied with some musicians who explained to me what that music was, and how it came from traditional jazz. So the only way I was going to get a grip on that music was to learn traditional jazz."

Skolnick now straddles both jazz and metal. In addition to THE ALEX SKOLNICK TRIO, he's a member of the TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA and the touring version of "Jekyll & Hyde, The Musical". And he's rejoined TESTAMENT, which performs sporadically.

"I don't see myself as limited to one style," he said. "Life is diverse and interesting, and I think music should be the same thing as well."