ATARAXIA (SKY BLUE)

Passport is Klaus Doldinger's vehicle. An extremely productive composer, performer, the band allows for some stretching out alongside his other works for German TV, where he provided countless soundtracks for noted TV-series, as well as movies. Some of those works are equally good compared with Passport and it's of a surprise to me that Doldinger didn't merit a separate listing on PA.

I was fortunate to catch the band live on their promotion tour of "Ataraxia". The performance was studded with great improvisations on all instruments and this album contains elements of that - albeit in a condensed form.

The first half of the album is a pure delight. The two-part title tune slowly builds from a tastefully mellow start to a gutsy finish, then followed by a number of excellent pieces. It's European Jazz- Rock at it's best.

What follows is a bit of a mixed bag of goodies. Still some nice compositions/melodies professionally arranged and delivered. The emergence of the odd Disco rhythm though - whilst not that horrible - points in the direction Passport were heading towards on their future releases.

The band is like a revolving door where members come and go regularly. This line-up is one of the best and able to deliver fluid and smooth works, unlike some awkwardly fragmented and rigid lines that tend to plague many Teutonic artists.

Altogether, the album remains a worthy addition and recommended. Most other works by Passport pre-Ataraxia are also excellent

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