‘… fresh and offbeat … Bermel is a musician of almost incredible breadth and productivity – a virtuoso clarinetist and apparent stylistic packrat who remembers and incubates everything he hears. While Elixir is informed by the shimmering “spectral music” that flourished in France in the 1970s, it also sounds distinctively American and decidedly maritime, with shore sounds and a constant rocking that outdoes Debussy’s En Bateau in its motility.’
The Villager, New York City (Michael Clive), May 2006