Alex Machacek Featuring Terry Bozzio - [Sic] (CD)

All Music Guide

A native of Austria, guitarist Alex Machacek's composing style is clearly influenced by Frank Zappa, utilizing similar quirky, unpredictable lines and playing at a virtuoso level. One of Zappa's former sidemen, the phenomenal drummer Terry Bozzio, plays on three tracks, though his work was evidently recorded in advance for Machacek to incorporate into his finished pieces. The opening to the frenetic "Dijon Don" (jointly written by Machacek and Bozzio), suggests "The Black Page" (Zappa's showpiece for Bozzio), though Machacek is evidently responsible for the impressive piano parts as well, while the inserted commentary into the title track by Randy Allar was also a favorite Zappa tool. The leader's wife, vocalist Sumitra Nanjundan, joins him for the exotic "Indian Girl Meets Austrian Boy." The music throughout [Sic] is quite impressive, easily eclipsing most of what passes for instrumental rock or jazz fusion. Highly recommended.

- Ken Dryden, All Music Guide