I once saw a solo saxophonist supporting Whitehouse in Sheffield. He played some wild and crazy avant-garde free jazz on a selection of saxes. After half an hour of quite painful noodling, the punchline landed at the end of the set when he lugged out a massive deep instrument and proceeded to repeat the routine, only with a sound approximating a foghorn.
Susanna Gartmayer’s freeform, semi-improv pieces – there are seven here, with a total running time of 27 minutes – are reminiscent. She has a fair array of clarinets, not just bass, which she uses to boom, bray, honk and parp her way some stuttering, jolting pieces, and other pieces which groan and drone.
I’ve do doubt she’s an extremely talented and technically accomplished musician, and that to some ears this will be an exquisite work of musical genius, but for the rest, and me, it’s simply painful.
Susanna Gartmayer Online
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