LIFELIKE

Passport, fronted by multi-instrumentalist Klaus Doldinger, is truly an amazing outfit. Especially in the 1970s and early 1980s, the band recorded album after album of top notch jazz/jazz-rock music. Apart from the justifiably tried and true studio and 2 live records on Atlantic in the 70s, there were some rather off the beaten track live outings that deserve a lot more attention than they have garnered. This double CD set called "Lifelike", is one of them.

Recorded after the famous and renowned group lineup of Doldinger on Sax and Keys, Curt Cress on drums, Kristian Schultze (RIP) on keys, and Wolfgang Schmid on Guitar had disbanded, this recording features live performances from the 1977 Montreux Jazz Festival (introduced by Claude Nobs) and the 1980 Montreux Festival, as well. Though Doldinger would never fully recapture the greatness of the earlier lineup (whose last recording was the studio album Iguacu in 1977), the music on this CD set shows that he still knew how to surround himself with great musicians, and make great music. Judging by the evidence on these recordings, Passport still had the chops live, and had not run out of steam, as some thought they had.

CD 1 has the lineup of Doldinger along with Kevin Mulligan on guitar, Hendrik Schaper on keys, Dieter Petereit on bass, and Dave Crigger on drums, who were also involved in some of Passport's post-Iguacu studio offerings. In Montreux in 1977, this band is still a force to be reckoned with, doing numbers from the recently released Iguacu album, as well older tracks from the debut, Second Passport, and Infinity Machine. The last two tracks are recorded without bass and drums, with a somewhat different from Passport atmosphere to them. Though the music here is a little lighter than the early band, none of it is trite, and stands on it's own as intriguing music.

CD 2 starts off with a cover of 1975's Jadoo, then a number from Iguacu, and a version of Stormy Monday Blues, all done in 1977 as well, with guest musicians. Then comes Montreux 1980, and the title track from Ataraxia, and then Dreamware and Algeria, these tracks featuring the 1977 Montreux lineup. Algeria features a very creative drum solo from David Crigger.

If you are a fan of seventies Passport, I urge you to give Lifelike a try. It is definitely worthwhile, and is an important window on what the band was like live in the first few years after the Iguacu lineup departed. I give it four stars.