2004 release  ** "It is easier to say what it doesn’t mean: Intuitive means not controlled by reason, not planned, not calculating, not superficial, not egomaniacal. It may mean: Creative, organic, alive, spiritual. All this at least is the music of the duo and it even possesses this astonishing quality when it has been thus announced. It magically appears to draw directly on the inward, as well as on a system of sounds that seems to exist beyond our involvement. The trumpet player Markus Stockhausen is today counted among the internationally most renowned representatives of his instrument – not only in Jazz and Improvisation but also in the field of New Music. Tara Bouman, Amsterdam trained clarinetist and since 2000 Stockhausen’s partner in music as well as in life, has made her name primarily as an interpreter of contemporary chamber music. Lately she released her solo panorama “Contemporary.” with works from Pierre Boulez to Karlheiz Stockhausen on the label Aktivraum. Their joint album “Thinking About” unites three free improvisations and one fully transcribed composition with works that contain improvised as well as written parts. For two of the titles the duo turns trio – courtesy of multitrack recording. Bouman’s and Stockhausen’s music invariably benefits from their stupendous technical prowess, but nowhere is that all it is.
“Thinking About” presents a body of work that doesn’t want to impress – and by not doing so it does just that: Music that does not just unfold its splendor under a viselike analytical scrutiny, but can be felt and savored even in its unwieldy passages. Whether it is the all but unworldly happiness that seems to resonate in “Zephir” or the glassy quiet of the title piece, the meditative calm of “Andrea” or the rythmic panache of “Judan” – “Thinking About” is filled with moments that not only exalt the spirit but make it well worth to listen to…"