Passport - Blue Tattoo (1981)

Tracklist

01 - Riding On A Cloud
02 - Radiation
03 - Ragtag And Bobtail
04 - Blue Tattoo
05 - Piece For Rock Orchestra
06 - Rambling
07 - In A Melancholy Way
08 - Daybreak Delight

personnel:

David Crigger - drums
Klaus Doldinger - saxophones, Lyricon, keyboards, vocoder
Kevin Mulligan - guitars
Dieter Petereit - bass
Hendrik Schaper - keyboards

PASSPORT was a German jazz/fusion group formed in 1971. Founded by Ace Saxeman, composer and arranger Klaus Doldinger along with Curt Cress (percussion), Kristian Schultze (keyboards), and Wolfgang Schmid (bass & guitar). This was the classic lineup that started with their 4th album "Looking Thru" in 1973, their first US release. I'm not familiar with their first 3 albums, but outside Klaus, the lineup was pretty different. This classic lineup continued through the next 5 albums. Utilizing spacey electronic jazz with rock and classical styles, this group was very groundbreaking. Klaus has a knack for coming up with some of the most beautiful saxe melodies you ever heard. Curt Cress was probably one of the first drummers to experiment with electronic drums. Bassist Wolfgang Schmid's classical guitar adds a nice demension. And Kristian Schultze's use of synth and mellotron gives them an expansive orchestral sound. After their 8th album, PASSPORT went through many different incarnations with only Klaus as the common denominator in all of them. In the 80's, Klaus did other projects like motion picture soundtracks, most notably "Das Boot". But PASSPORT still to this day records and performs (mostly in Europe, they came to the US only once) with various personnel. But it was the classic lineup that expanded their audience and gave them critical acclaim.