The usual stuff is here: arpeggio versus ostinato, ostinato versus arpeggio. And as always, 's synthesizers double their woodwinds. But is the most pleasant craftwork ever from the great minimalist exploiter -- six warm pieces that approach the spirit of minimalist pioneer . Only instead of 's lyrical-to-antic jumps, creates the ruminative-to-excitable kind. 's softly rolled piano melody is music to fold your hands and muse by, and when 's French horn sets up everything seems nice and level -- until the flailing woodwinds and synthesizers of the ensemble crash in. is tuneful in the most pleasingly direct sense -- the arrangements define the melodies so cleanly they're instantly memorable. In addition, the album is programmed with a particular shape in mind. It's kind of a waveform, where every other relaxed melody is upset by a classic rush -- is even outpaced by 's honking saxophones and enough cascading counterpoint to give a case of carpal tunnel syndrome. These two tunes are so disruptive, so complex, that it's easy to think that they dominate the whole project. But they're also the shortest tunes on the album. Most of the time, harmonies bob around in the strings and woodwinds, though 's soprano sax glides atop based on (funny), contains his second prettiest orchestration after the finale of . In fact, it's probably the source of ' subsequent reputation in the music industry. Of interest to those who keep up with ' re-use of his work: was originally intended for use in 's movie . It was re-used along with on the 1987 album . and were performed in 's film , devoted to and his ensemble; in this performance segment, 's vocals replace 's brass section. ~ John Young