On Wednesday, May 8th a sold out Le Poisson Rouge was host to mind-blowing performances by guitarist Rafiq Bhatia and his Quartet, and multi-instrumentalist Colin Stetson. Both bring an unconventional approach to their music, producing sounds uniquely their own pulled from a wide range of genres. Headliner Stetson included compositions off his recently completed, three volume, The History of Warfare, alternating between alto sax and his 103-year-old bass sax on which he employs a circular breathing technique that allows him to play continually without pausing. It's not surprising that the seemingly unbelievable result is accompanied by overheard comments from the audience that there must be looping or delay or some electronic filler. There is not. The deeply dimensional polyphonic experience is created entirely by the sheer one man force of Colin Stetson.
