David, Gareth * Uitti, Frances-marie – “Gramercy” – [Miasmah Recordings]

humana   7/20/2012   12-inch, A Library

There’s something about a cello (especially one played with a twin bow as is Uitti’s) that surrounds you with sound like a blanket, leaving lots of space yet imparting security. Davis’ clarinet starts out very restrained, almost indistinguishable from the cello, yet comes into its own starting on A2. Pleasantly enough, the clarinet as played by Davis is anything but annoying and summons images of animals a la Saints Saens. Some tracks are incredibly hushed (A4), sounding almost like breathing. B1 begins like this and progresses into a drone. It gets very quiet but then ends in a relative cacophony (the way they pull out all the stops at the end of fireworks displays). C2 ends with a long bout of stillness, out of which the clarinet percolates sporadically. D2 has several false endings, like tides that advance and recede. Watch out or the sparseness of this will send you into la-la land.
-Pax Humana