Music Review - Loren Stillman - At Poisson Rouge, Stepping ... http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/30/arts/music/30stillman.html...

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MUSIC REVIEW | LOREN STILLMAN

An Alto Saxophonist Steps Modestly to the

Fore

Richard Termine for The New York Times

Loren Stillman and Bad Touch The saxophonist performing on Monday night at Le Poisson
Rouge, with the Bad Touch members Ted Poor on drums and Gary Versace on keyboards.
By NATE CHINEN
Published: September 29, 2009
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The alto saxophonist Loren Stillman
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communicates great intensity but not a lot of
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drama. He’s an intuitive, self-regulating
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improviser, averse to any flourish that calls
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attention to itself. What you hear in his playing is
the real-time synthesis of information, chiefly SHARE

melodic and harmonic, and the rigorous subtlety

of his response. At 29, he pairs uncannily mature instincts with the
open-minded spark of youth.

Well into his roughly 80-minute set at E-MAIL THIS AD » LINK TO THIS AD

Blog Le Poisson Rouge on Monday night, he

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The latest on the free-flowing tempo. It was one of half a
arts, coverage of dozen songs from his rewarding new 1. Married (Happily) With Issues
live events, 2. Religion Journal: Yes, Miky, There Are Rabbis in Montana
album, “Winter Fruits” (Pirouet), due
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on Friday. And in one sense it was his 3. Nicholas D. Kristof: Cancer From the Kitchen?
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Mr. Stillman was appearing with Bad 7. Maureen Dowd: The Lady and the Tiger
Touch, a group that also includes Gary 8. Patient Money: Knowing What’s Worth Paying for in Vitamins

Versace on organ, Nate Radley on guitar and Ted Poor on drums. 9. The 10 Best Books of 2009

Last year this band self-released its substantive debut, “Like a Magic 10. Op-Ed Contributor: Will Big Business Save the Earth?

Kiss,” pushing for recognition as a leaderless collective. That the Go to Complete List »
same personnel appears on “Winter Fruits,” playing a lot of the same
music, could be seen as progress — the new album, recorded and
mixed with a larger budget, has a warmly balanced sound — but it
also highlights the practical hurdle facing any jazz ensemble without
a designated frontman, even one as unassuming as Mr. Stillman.

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Music Review - Loren Stillman - At Poisson Rouge, Stepping ... http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/30/arts/music/30stillman.html...

Whatever the background issues, Bad Touch achieved a staggering

level of cohesion here. Its efforts often involved the elasticization of
tempo, and an on-the-spot counterpoint fashioned from moving
parts: several melodies began in unison before breaking off into
strands. That strategy extended to many of the solos, which
effectively became two- or three-part inventions. (Mr. Versace, a
wickedly dynamic player, kept blurring distinctions between
background and foreground.)

Mr. Stillman was responsible for much of the music, including several
songs — “Man of Mystery,” “Skin” and “Like a Magic Kiss” — that
appear on both recent albums. He has a momentum-based approach
to composition, layering lines rather than imposing chords.

But two of the set’s most directly propulsive tunes were by Mr. Poor:
“Winter Fruits” and “Wade,” both featuring a haltingly syncopated
melody and a variant of funk rhythm. At those moments the surging
output of the group recalled that of Underground, a jazz-rock band
with the same instrumental lineup, led by the tenor saxophonist Chris
Potter.

There was always ample reason to focus on Mr. Stillman’s playing in

the set. He brought weight and depth to his sound, unfurling
complicated phrases that were somehow devoid of clichés. Still,
everything he played was in the context of the band, which held to a
constant ideal: focused flexibility, with a striking absence of
hierarchy.

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A version of this article appeared in print on September 30, 2009, on

page C7 of the New York edition.

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Past Coverage
MUSIC REVIEW; Four Members Who Play In
Multifarious Styles (October 23, 2008)
Coming of Age, Saxophone in Hand (March 17, 2002)

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