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Alex Machacek (born 1 July, 1972, Tulln, Austria) is a Austrian jazz-fusion guitarist best known for his 1999 debut Featuring Ourselves and highly acclaimed follow-up Delete and Roll with the band BPM. He is critically acclaimed by the likes of John McLaughlin and the late Shawn Lane, for his extra-ordinary chops and the ease with which he shifts from legato to staccato. He is currently based in Los Angeles.
Early Years
Machacek was born to a Czech family in Tulln, Austria. His family had moved to Austria in the 1960s as refugees. Since then, they have adopted Austria as their nation. He started playing the guitar at the age of 8 by taking classical guitar lessons for six years at a music school in Vienna.
Machacek's early influences were heavy metal musicians and bands like Iron Maiden, KISS, Deep Purple and Queen. However, in the mid-80s, he was exposed to jazz and quickly got hooked to music of Mike Stern, John Scofield, Allan Holdsworth, Frank Zappa, Chick Correa and John McLaughlin. Machacek states that he is influenced by all the music that he liked, including heavy metal and hard rock.
Music Career
Alex Machacek studied Jazz Guitar and Jazz Education at the Conservatory of Vienna, Austria. He also took classical lessons in percussions. After that, he attended Berklee College of Music, Boston for 2 semesters. Alex also won the European guitar competition: "Guitar Newcomer 98". He released his first album Featuring Ourselves in 1999, which took the jazz/fusion world by storm. He then met his idol, drummer Terry Bozzio. Both collaborated and released the album Delete and Roll as BPM. The album was highly acclaimed, especially in jazz circles. Alex has released Sic in 2005. The album also features his wife, Sumitra on vocals in one song.
Personal Life
Alex Machacek lives in Los Angeles with his wife Sumitra Nanjundan, an Indian American. He married her in 2005 after working together for eight years. He has also produced her solo album Indian Girl in which he has featured in one of the songs as well. He also visited India, his wife's ethnic nation in 2005 for a special gig in the annual Jazz Fest.