Search - Peter Buffett :: Yonnondio

Though keyboardist Peter Buffett's third recording (1992) carries a Native American title ("yonnondio" is an Iroquois term of lament), the music it delivers is mostly an atmospheric mix of pop, progressive, and lite classical elements that yield modestly interesting listening. Buffett uses a Synclavier, various keyboards, samples, and a piano to concoct his subdued instrumentals, which in several places seem thin or underdeveloped ("Lacunae," "Clear Midnight," et al.). Guitarist Jason Klagstad is the project's chief outside contributor, sending an electric storm surging though the disc's opening piece ("The Crossing"), then playing politely on six other tracks. Buffett also enlists a small string section on numerous pieces, but most of his compositions here lack distinction and idle more than progress. The album's highlights are a percolating, out-of-character charmer, the chiming "Sparkles from the Wheel," and the gentle "Back Home." He closes with the dramatic, 12-minute, two-part title opus that involves wordless voicings of the Madison (Wisconsin) Boychoir, one of the earliest uses of chantlike elements in a New Age recording. --Terry Wood