Alex Skolnick is a true guitar hero. At sixteen years old, he joined a group of twenty- somethings who'd formed a thrash metal band called Testament. Alex stayed with the band through five critically acclaimed albums and countless tours with, among others, Slayer, Megadeth, Judas Priest, and White Zombie. After hearing and seeing one of Miles Davis electric bands on TV, Alex relocated to New York City to play and study jazz. Alex Skolnick Trio (AST) was formed while Alex was earning his BfA in jazz from New School University in Manhattan. AST has been lauded by critics, fans and musical heroes alike ranging from Downbeat to Jazziz to the Village Voice to Kirk Hammet of Metallica. Veritas is the trio's 4th album and their first for Palmetto Records.AST s newest release, Veritas, continues Alex's passion to trail-blaze through the landscape of pop, jazz, rock and metal to find common ground and push boundaries all in the name of great music. Veritas (Latin for 'Truth') has nine original tunes (all penned by Alex) and a 10th track that transforms a classic metal tune by Metallica, 'Fade to Black,' into a post-modern Jazz composition. Other standout tracks include Bollywood Jam a humorous mash-up of Bollywood soundtrack grooves and sophisticated improvisation, and the hard-hitting funk of 99/09, in which Alex imagines a collaboration between pop superstar Prince and jazz guitarist John Scofield.Veritas will become a favorite of music fans that enjoy some of the pillars of Jazz guitar Scofield, Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery, Bill Frisell, Jim Hall and George Benson - but recast from an edgier and more energetic perspective. Veritas is poised to further push the boundary of contemporary Jazz as fans of harder rock and metal are fast becoming a significant new audience in Jazz. It is this fast-growing group of listeners that forms the core fan base of AST. They want truth in live performance, they want truth in great songs, they want Veritas.
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