Intuit: Till Maragnoli, Thomas Braun.
Personnel: Airto Moreira (vocals, percussion); Flora Purim, Andy Bey, C‚cile Verny (vocals); Ray Obiedo (guitar); Niels Kaiser (sitar); Harald Paul, Wolfgang Greser (violin, strings); Esther Przybylski (viola); Markus Tillier (cello); Harald Amberger (flute, saxophone); Frank Goos (clarinet); Bernhard Mnchbach (trumpet, flugelhorn); Jrgen Dederichs, Pascal Beck (trombone); Thomas Wagner (bass trombone, tuba); Acimo (grand piano, … mehrFender Rhodes piano, Clavinet, keyboards); Till Maragnoli (upright bass, programming); Thomas Braun (drums, percussion, programming); Michael Spiro (percussion); Dominik J„ckel, Thomas Verny, Helena Fix, Verena Rauder, Diana Moreira Booker, Sandy Cressman (background vocals).
Recording information: Intuit Recording - Studio, Freiburg, Germany; Ray-O Funk Factory, S.F. Bay; Reeltime, Savannah, GA.
Arranger: Intuit.
Three years after their first Intuit 12" -- which followed a brief stint recording as Supersepfft -- percussionist Thomas Braun and bassist Till Maragnoli reappear with an album-length project. That they were able to rope in several of their heroes to collaborate proves to be both a blessing and a curse. On the cuts where the duo is joined by the likes of Doug Carn, Airto Moreira, Andy Bey, Flora Purim, and Ray Obiedo (who are all in good form, Bey especially), they kick their game up a couple notches. When on their own, or aided by less-seasoned talent, they serve up cuts that are simply functional. It also doesn't help that, like labelmates' Jazzanova's In Between and Trby Trio's Elevator Music, the album is twice as long as it should be. Nonetheless, these German synthesists are capable of mixing musical elements that originated from other continents (Africa, the Americas) with a well-studied -- if overly polite and therefore timid -- level of understanding. ~ Andy Kellman weniger