Brooklyn-based jazz-rock innovators Alex Skolnick Trio (AST) return this fall with PROVE YOU’RE NOT A ROBOT, the group’s sixth LP, arriving November 7, 2025. The album’s first single, a wildly inventive take on Tom Petty’s “Breakdown,” is available today. Listen here.
Blending fearless improvisation, genre-defying arrangements, and the virtuosity of its members, PROVE YOU’RE NOT A ROBOT captures AST at the height of their creative powers. The title reflects both a wry nod to our tech-saturated era and a deeper meditation on humanity, direct interaction, and the irreplaceable spark of live musicianship in an age of artificial intelligence.
Recorded with a range of vintage and custom instruments — from a Roger Sadowsky archtop to a 1935 Gibson L-00 acoustic — the album spans moods from the uplifting “Guiding Ethos” to the mind-bending Chick Corea/Steve Howe mashup “Armando’s Mood.” Alongside Skolnick’s inventive guitar work, bassist Nathan Peck and drummer Matt Zebroski bring rhythmic complexity and emotional depth, with odd-time signatures and genre twists that have become AST hallmarks.
“I feel this album represents my strongest work as a composer,” says Skolnick. “Nathan and Matt really brought their A-game throughout. I think it’s safe to say this is the record we’re all most proud of.”
Since forming in the early 2000s, AST has reimagined the jazz guitar trio, melding influences as far-reaching as Wes Montgomery, Black Sabbath, Prince, tango, calypso, and Western swing. Known for their adventurous covers of rock and metal classics, they’ve earned praise from outlets like Billboard, Downbeat, Jazziz, The Village Voice, and NPR, and have toured internationally, captivating audiences from Norway’s Larvik Guitar Festival to Paris’s The Olympia and New York’s Radio City Music Hall.
PROVE YOU’RE NOT A ROBOT promises to be a bold addition to the AST legacy — as engaging for jazz aficionados as it is for rock fans curious about the inventive, genre-bending journey of Testament original guitarist Alex Skolnick.
Album Release Date: November 7, 2025
First Single “Breakdown” Release Date: September 12, 2025
PROVE YOU’RE NOT A ROBOT Tracklist
- Parallel Universe
- Armondo’s Mood
- Infinite Hotel
- Prove You’re Not A Robot
- Guiding Ethos
- Breakdown
- The Polish Goodbye
- Asking For A Friend
AST on Tour
September 30 - New York, NY, The Cutting Room (Album launch party)
November 15 - Montreal, QB, Piranha Bar
November 16 – Ottawa, ON, Brass Monkey
November 17 – Pittsburgh, PA. City Winery
November 19 – Detroit, MI, Token Lounge
November 20 – Chicago, IL. Reggie’s
November 21 – Cleveland, OH, Irishtown Bend Tap Room
November 22 – Buffalo, NY, Nietzsche’s
November 23 – Anniville, PA, The Allen Theatre
2026
January 8 – The Woodlands, TX, Dosey Doe
January 9 – McKinney, TX, Guitar Sanctuary
January 11 – San Antonio, TX, Fitzgerald’s
January 13 – Los Angeles, CA, Baked Potato
January 14 – Sacramento, CA, Harlow’s
January 15 – Seattle, WA, Funhouse
January 16 – Portland, OR, Jack London Revue
January 17 – Redding, CA, The Dip
January 18 – Mill Valley, CA, Sweetwater Music Hall
Alex Skolnick Trio is:
Alex Skolnick – Guitar
Matt Zebroski – DrumsNathan Peck - Bass