IGUAÇU

Passport Iguacu By Ron Tagliapietra Iguacu is the 7th studio album by Passport. I consider it their best. It includes Latin influence in the song titles (some Brazilian places) and the use of percussion instruments (from Brazil). "Bahia do Sol", the first track, is very upbeat and catchy. Two other tracks are also fast and energetic: "Sambukada" and "Guna Guna". All 3 of these tracks are great and obviously liked by the band, too, since they're all on their live album Lifelike . In fact, the first 2 of the songs are also on their compilation album Spirit of Continuity: the Passport Anthology . None of the 8 tracks are bad, but "Praia Lame" and "Aguamarinha" are fantastic and exude energy.

For the album Iguacu, the line-up consisted of Kurt Doldinger (saxes, flute, organ, synthesizer [Moog]), Curt Cress (drums, berimbau), Wolfgang Schmid (bass), Roy Louis (guitar) and Elmer Louis (percussion). There are also 7 guest musicians: Mat Bjorklund (guitar) played only on "Guna Guna", while the other 6 guys (Wilson Das Neves, Roberto Bastos Pinheiro, Noel Manuel Pinto, Clelio Ribeiro, Marcello Salazar, Pedro Santos) played various Brazilian percussion instruments on "Sambukada" (and 2 of them, Pinto and Santos, also played on "Bird of Paradise"). Percussion instruments included atapaques, berimbau, cuica, pandeiro, & surdo.

The album's title and cover should not be ignored. The cover is an upside-down photo of Iguacu, a waterfall on the Iguacu River, forming the border between Brazil and Argentina. The river empties into the Rio Parana at the Paraguayan border not far downstream. During the dry season, it pales in comparison to Niagara Falls, however during the rainy season, it has 10 times as much water flowing over it as Niagara Falls. This makes it the most powerful waterfall in the world! It's a fitting commentary for the powerful energy of Passport's music! Why is it upside down? It's your Passport into jazz-fusion!