Alex Skolnick
Work outside of Testament
#### Work outside of Testament

After his first departure from Testament, Skolnick joined the band [Savatage](/wiki/Savatage "Savatage") in 1994 for the recording of *[Handful of Rain](/wiki/Handful_of_Rain "Handful of Rain")*, as well as its follow\-up live album and home video release *[Japan Live '94](/wiki/Japan_Live_%2794 "Japan Live '94")*. In 1991 he recorded and toured with the [Stuart Hamm](/wiki/Stuart_Hamm "Stuart Hamm") band. He also played guitar for [Ozzy Osbourne](/wiki/Ozzy_Osbourne "Ozzy Osbourne") in 1995\. In 2004, he made a guest appearance on [Lamb of God](/wiki/Lamb_of_God_%28band%29 "Lamb of God (band)")'s *[Ashes of the Wake](/wiki/Ashes_of_the_Wake "Ashes of the Wake")* album, recording a solo for the album's instrumental title track.

During the mid to late 1990s, Skolnick led several projects in the San Francisco Bay Area, including Skol\-Patrol, a funk band featuring [Michael Manring](/wiki/Michael_Manring "Michael Manring") that played themes from police shows. He recorded two albums with Attention Deficit, a trio with Manring and [Tim Alexander](/wiki/Tim_Alexander "Tim Alexander") of [Primus](/wiki/Primus_%28band%29 "Primus (band)"). In the late 90s, he collaborated with electric violinist Joe Deninzon (who he met in New York City at the New School) in the band [Stratospheerius](/wiki/Stratospheerius "Stratospheerius"), recording *The Adventures of Stratospheerius* album. He also appears on their *Live Wires* album.

In 1998, Skolnick moved to New York City and began devoting all of his energy to [jazz](/wiki/Jazz "Jazz"), enrolling in [The New School](/wiki/The_New_School "The New School") for Jazz \& Contemporary Music and graduating with a degree in jazz performance. Since 2002, he has toured and recorded as the Alex Skolnick Trio, a jazz group known for rousing [bebop](/wiki/Bebop "Bebop") renditions of [classic rock](/wiki/Classic_rock "Classic rock") and [heavy metal](/wiki/Heavy_metal_music "Heavy metal music") tunes. The trio has performed at the [Rochester International Jazz Festival](/wiki/Rochester_International_Jazz_Festival "Rochester International Jazz Festival"), [Musikmesse Frankfurt](/wiki/Musikmesse_Frankfurt "Musikmesse Frankfurt"), Germany, the National Center for the Arts, Mexico City, and the [Iridium Jazz Club](/wiki/Iridium_Jazz_Club "Iridium Jazz Club") in New York City. Skolnick's trio has been praised by *Down Beat*, *Jazziz*, and *The Village Voice*. Their album *Veritas* ([Palmetto](/wiki/Palmetto_Records "Palmetto Records")) reached No. 7 on the [iTunes](/wiki/ITunes "ITunes") jazz chart.

Skolnick released a DVD Jazz tuition set with Rock House Method in May 2010\. He recorded the album *What's Next?* with pianist Randy Klein in 2012\.


How did playing in Ozzy Osbourne's band affect Alex Skolnick's career?