Growing up in New York, Alex Zawilak fell in love with a wide variety of music. While still in high school, Alex performed in the St John’s University Big Band and local Queens and long Island venues. He was mentored by the Jazz pianist Enos Payne at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music. At the weekly Jazz workshop, Alex would play and hang with local New York jazz musicians until the wee hours of the morning. Inspired by the solo fingerstyle playing of Joe Pass and the cool lines of Bach, Alex picked up Classical guitar. He finished his Bachelors and Masters of music at Mannes College under the guidance of Classical-Jazz composer-guitarist Frederic Hand. Performing highlights include a televised jazz concert on Polish Television and a solo recital In Tirana, Albania. Alex obtained his doctorate in guitar performance at ASU with an emphasis on the study of world music which was initiated by playing Afro-Cuban Jazz, Klezmer and Celtic music in his teens. His research project Nationalistic traits in Polish classical guitar music continued that interest in folkloric practice while paying homage to his native Poland. Currently, Alex teaches at Scottsdale Community College, where he tries to help others break a few musical borders.