What you hear in his playing is the real-time synthesis of information, chiefly 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 Le Poisson Rouge on Monday night, he ventured a lullaby called “Puffy" in a free-flowing tempo. It was one of half a dozen songs from his rewarding new album, Winter Fruits (Pirouet), due on Friday. And in one sense it was his first unambiguous solo turn, after plenty of full-court team exertion.
Mr. Stillman was appearing with Bad Touch, a group that also includes Gary Versace on organ, Nate Radley on guitar and Ted Poor on drums. Last year this band self-released its substantive debut, Like a Magic Kiss, pushing for recognition as a leaderless collective. That the 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.
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.
