In a conversation with Defender of the Riff host Daniel Dekay, Testament’s Alex Skolnick admitted that thrash wasn’t enough to satisfy his musical ambitions, and talked about venturing into jazz, in the 90s and eventually going back and forth between both genres today.
“I think after like, several years of [touring and recording with Testament], it got to be a little bit much,” Skolnick admitted. “Everybody was dealing with it in different ways. I was exploring lots of different types of music. And I eventually ended up in New York, getting a degree in music from the New School, and studying with jazz masters.”
He added: “And I just wanted to learn how to play with a piano player, how to play with a saxophone player, how to write a chart. Up until then, I’d been learning songs off records: Van Halen, Randy Rhoads. I could figure it out, not that I could play it exact, but I kind of knew what was going on. But I was getting into players like John Scofield and Pat Metheny, and I could not figure out what the hell they were doing.”
Skolnick has been openly talking about his love for jazz, and other than Testament, he also plays in the jazz outfit Alex Skolnick Trio. In another interview, the guitarist talked about how metal isn’t typically what he listens to when he’s not on the road. He mentioned that many metal musicians tend to have similar preferences when it comes to their at-home music choices.
“If you’re going to look at what I listen to mostly, it’s not as much metal,” Skolnick admitted. “I’ve played it for so many years, I get my fill of it. I play festivals with the bands, and I hear so much of it.”
The rocker added: “And I know I’m not the only one, too. I know players that pretty much do metal full-time that don’t listen to it. Because it gets overwhelming. It’s awesome, but you get your fill from the live concerts and the studio recordings. So, the rest of the time, no, I’m mostly studying and practicing the highest level improvisational music that I can.”
While Alex Skolnick Trio has two shows scheduled for next year, Testament is playing their last show for the year tonight. The performance will take place at ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands.
