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Alex Machacek

Born in 1972, Machacek grew up in Vienna, where he began studying classical guitar at the age of eight and continued for six years. While his early interest in guitar outside the classical field tended toward rock (Queen, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden), he later gravitated toward jazz, with a particular interest in jazz guitar great Joe Pass. “I was pretty much a straight ahead player back then because that was what the people played around me. I learned the Great American songbook and just played as much as I could. When I was 13 or 14, somebody gave me a Joe Pass record and I became the biggest Joe Pass fan in the 14th district of Vienna. I fell in love with this guy’s playing.”

At age 16, Alex enrolled at the Conservatory of Vienna, where he studied jazz guitar. “Usually you go to school until you’re 18 and then enter the Conservatory,” says Alex. “But I convinced my mother to let me quit school so that I could attend the Conservatory earlier.” During that time, he gained invaluable bandstand experience in a wide variety of groups, from Dixieland to pop cover bands, big band to musical theater, singer-songwriter to contemporary classical as well as sitting in on jam sessions.

A turning point in Machacek’s development came after he encountered the music of guitar god Allan Holdsworth. “I was so attracted to his playing because I had no clue what was going on. All I knew was it was different, it was great and I wanted to figure out what he was doing. And I have to admit, I definitely became a Holdsworth addict. And while I don’t want to deny my influences, I’m also trying to get something identifiable happening in my playing.”

Some years after his introduction to Holdsworth’s wholly unique approach to guitar playing, Machacek had a similar encounter with Frank Zappa’s music, which had a significant impact on him. “I always liked Allan’s playing but I was also looking for something else on a compositional level” says Alex. “Then I found Zappa. Other friends were turning me on to his music but I think his album Live in New York was one of the keys for me. I fell in love with that record. And, of course, Terry Bozzio plays on that record, so I also fell in love with Terry’s drumming.”

Zappa’s Live in New York, originally released in 1978, featured the notorious chops-busting drum feature, “The Black Page,” which has since stood as a kind of proving ground for drummers everywhere. That intricate piece planted the seeds for Bozzio’s uncannily melodic approach to the kit, which he subsequently elevated to high art on 1994’s Solo DrumMusic and 2006’s Chamber Works with the 60-piece Metropole Orkest of Holland. “In Vienna, everyone was always talking about this tune,” says Machacek. “The thinking was, if you could play ‘The Black Page,’ then you’ve made it as a musician. So I started transcribing it and learned it and just fell in love with that piece. ‘The Black Page’ is like a milestone. You learn that piece and it’s like earning your Bachelors degree.”

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Radio & Podcasts

Hiromi, Alex Machacek, Jeff Sipe and Steve Weingart

Read "Hiromi, Alex Machacek, Jeff Sipe and Steve Weingart" reviewed by Len Davis


We begin with Hiromi from Brain, Chicago band Bad Dog U, Kick The Cat with Scramble and Alex Machacek from Improvision. Guitarist Nguyễn Le interpreting the music of Jimi Hendrix, Chris Poland from OHM and drummer Jeff Sipe from Timeless. Also, keyboard player Steve Weingart and bassist Adam Nitti . Playlist Hiromi “Kung-Fu world Champion" from Brain (Telarc) 00:00 Bad Dog U “Fancy Mixed Nuts" from Bad Dog U (Blu Jazz) 06:12 Kick The Cat “Scramble" from Scramble (Blu ...

1
Radio & Podcasts

Pianist John Escreet, Bassist Janek Gwizdala, and Guitarist Alex Machacek

Read "Pianist John Escreet, Bassist Janek Gwizdala, and Guitarist Alex Machacek" reviewed by Len Davis


John Escreet from Learn to Live, Janek Gwizdala Mystery to Me, Alex Machacek and Jimmy Haslip.Playlist John Escreet “Global Citizen" from Learn to Live (Blue Room) 00:00 Suomi Solmu “40 Acres and a Mule" from Facelift (Long Play) 05:49 Janek Gwizdala “AMSK" from Mystery To Me (Self Produced)11:37 Alex Stewart} &#147;Aftermath" from <em>Aftermath</em> (Jazz Family) 17:30</li> <li>Alex Machacek"Animika" from <em>24 Tales</em> (Abstract Logix) 23:21</li> <li>{{m: Meddy Gerville “Ter Vis Bin" from Tropical Rain (Dot Time) 29:14 ARC Trio ...

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Album Review

Samo Salamon & Friends: Almost Alone Vol 1

Read "Almost Alone Vol 1" reviewed by Glenn Astarita


To keep the train on the track during the Covid lockdowns, artists must think outside the box. Such is the case with this first volume of duets performed by renowned Slovenian guitarist Samo Salamon and European guitarists via the Internet by using web-based meeting programs and file-sharing processes. And besides performing on acoustic and electric guitars, Salamon incorporates a Moog synth on several tracks, largely used for textural backdrops. He also uses the body of his acoustic as a percussion ...

1
Album Review

Samo Salamon: Almost Alone Vol 1

Read "Almost Alone Vol 1" reviewed by Hrayr Attarian


Slovenian guitarist Samo Salamon is as prolific as he is innovative. His restless explorations have resulted in a large, versatile discography that ranges from the orchestral to the free flowing with a variety of ensembles. His 2020 release Almost Alone Vol. 1 is a set of eleven duets each with a different international guitarist. It is the first in a planned three-record series. Every track features a different set of motifs yet the eloquent lyricism of the dialogues ...

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Album Review

Gergo Borlai: The Missing Song

Read "The Missing Song" reviewed by Jim Worsley


The Missing Song has been heralded as a tribute to Gergo Borlai's nine most influential drummers still alive and performing today. This is much more than just listing them and perhaps covering one of their songs. Borlai composed eight of the nine new songs on this album. He plays them all in the manner, or mindset, of each drummer. The thought process, and level of preparation was meticulous for every drummer and every song. The drum kit, cymbals, sticks, pedals, ...

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Album Review

FAT: #awesome

Read "#awesome" reviewed by John Kelman


While the appropriately titled #awesome represents Alex Machacek's third album in six years with his (similarly witty and self-effacingly monikered) FAT (Fabulous Austrian Trio), this trifecta of virtuosic Austrian musicians goes much further back. Both bassist Raphael Preuschl and drummer Herbert Pirker appeared on roughly half of the expat-Austrian/Los Angeles-based guitarist's acclaimed 2006 Abstract Logix debut, [sic], while Machacek and Preuschl can be heard together on the even earlier The Next Generation of Sound (Extraplatte, 2000). In the ...

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Extended Analysis

Ultimate Collectors' Edition

Read "Ultimate Collectors' Edition" reviewed by John Kelman


Well, there's certainly been a wait for this one, but for fans of what may be the last high profile progressive rock group to emerge in the 1970s, U.K.'s Ultimate Collectors' Edition proves well worth it. What began as an already sizeable 16-disc box for a group that, during its relatively brief tenure, released just two studio albums and one live recording, has become an 18-disc set with the addition of a recording of the group's final show in Nijmegen, ...

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Book / Magazine

Jan Rivera's "Advanced Rhythmic Concepts For Guitar" -- Foreword By Alex Machacek

Jan Rivera's &quot;Advanced Rhythmic Concepts For Guitar&quot;  -- Foreword By Alex Machacek

Source: Jan Rivera

An in-depth study on Metric Modulation, Polyrhythms and Polymeters Jan Rivera's Advanced Rhythmic Concepts for Guitar is a step by step guide through the process of identifying, dissecting, constructing, practicing and applying: Metric Modulations, Polyrhythms, “Ratio” Polyrhythms, Polyrhythm Divisions/Polyrhythms within Polyrhythms, Intrinsic Polymeters, Extrinsic Polymeters, Polymetric Accompaniment, and Polymetric Improvisation. “I wish I'd had this book 20 years ago." —ALEX MACHACEK ("NOW" with Gary Husband) “Jan Rivera's book is clear, thorough, and methodical, and will be an asset to anyone ...

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Recording

Gary Husband And Alex Machacek's Release "Now" on Abstract Logix

Gary Husband And Alex Machacek's Release &quot;Now&quot; on Abstract Logix

Source: Abstract Logix

“Gary Husband and Alex Machacek have co-created an amazing piece of modern music which goes beyond categories...” —Chick Corea Now brings together two maverick voices of contemporary improvisation in a engaging, open-hearted conversation. Collaborating as a duo for the first time, pianist Gary Husband and guitarist Alex Machacek opt for a spare, stripped-down approach that highlights their intuitive, borderline-telepathic interplay across a program of original compositions. Whether locked in dazzling unison runs or gracefully yielding to evocative, sparse passages, Husband ...

113

Interview

Guitarist Alex Machacek Interviewed at AAJ...And More!

Guitarist Alex Machacek Interviewed at AAJ...And More!

Source: All About Jazz

Be careful what you wish for, for you may get it--so the saying goes. When Alex Machacek asked drummer Marco Minnemann if he had a drum solo he could pass his way to compose around, he could never have expected a drum improvisation lasting 51 minutes. Before he could say, “Hey, 13/16 is a really odd meter," he found himself committed to composing, or recomposing as he puts it, around the entire piece.

24 Tales (Abstract Logix, 2010) is a ...

106

Interview

Guitarist Alex Machacek, Bassist Matt Garrison and Drummer Jeff Sipe Interviewed at AAJ

Guitarist Alex Machacek, Bassist Matt Garrison and Drummer Jeff Sipe Interviewed at AAJ

Source: All About Jazz

Alex Machacek, Matt Garrison and Jeff Sipe have been responsible for some of the greatest moments in electric jazz since the turn of the new millennium.

So too, has Abstract Logix, the brainchild of Souvik Dutta, changed the landscape for this music since 2005, growing from a mere storefront into label and clearinghouse, to the point that the name is now synonymous with what fusion has become. With the release of the Machacek/Sipe/Garrison collaboration, Improvision (2007), comes another transformation; Dutta ...

108

Interview

Guitarist Alex Machacek Interviewed at AAJ

Guitarist Alex Machacek Interviewed at AAJ

Source: All About Jazz

Heppy New Year to all of AAJ's readers!

Since Alex Machacek last spoke to AAJ four years ago a lot has changed for the Austrian guitar wizard; he left Austria for Los Angeles, got married, and has received glowing praise for his music from, amongst others, guitar icon John McLaughlin.

Recently he signed a record deal with Abstract Logix with whom he has just released the critically acclaimed album [Sic]. AAJ caught up with Alex Machacek by phone and he ...

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Recording

Alex Machacek/Terry Bozzio "[SIC]" Releases on August 15

Alex Machacek/Terry Bozzio &quot;[SIC]&quot; Releases on August 15

Source: All About Jazz

[SIC] is the brand new release from guitar prodigy Alex Machacek, a classicaly trained guitarist whose music on this record is beyond categorization. His stunningly rich compostions blended with amazing technical skills makes this one of the top releases of the year. Joing him in this incredible music statement is Frank Zappa, Jeff Beck alumnus Terry Bozzio.

Read the All About Jazz Review by John Kelman.

Alex is a new force in the world of guitar and is surely to ...

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Video / DVD

DVD Release From Terry Bozzio, Alex Machacek and Patrick O'Hearn

DVD Release From Terry Bozzio, Alex Machacek and Patrick O'Hearn

Source: All About Jazz


"Alex Machacek's music starts where other music ends." —John McLaughlin

"Machacek’s remarkable blend of advanced composition, masterful technique, and total musicality makes [sic], quite simply, an instant classic that transcends genre-typing, and one of the best records of the year." —John Kelman, AllAboutJazz.com

"Over the course of a whole lifetime as a passionate observer and chronicler of the music scene, with a particularly keen interest in guitarists of all stripes, I have been blown away innumerable times by extraordinary players who bring something remarkable and personal to the table

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Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Adjustments

Blue Canoe Records
2021

buy

The Missing Song

Blue Canoe Records
2020

buy

Almost Alone Vol 1

Samo Records
2020

buy

#awesome

Self Produced
2018

buy

(Living the Dream)

Abstract Logix
2016

buy

Tiny Circles

From: Adjustments
By Alex Machacek

Gary

From: The Missing Song
By Alex Machacek

Why Not

From: FAT
By Alex Machacek

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