Passport is the creation of saxophonist Klaus Doldinger, who has stated that Passport is not so much a set group but a label and a name for his many projects. Doldinger, who had started out playing Dixieland back in the 1950s, by the following decade was a modern tenor saxophonist who also worked in the studios. His mind has always remained quite open and in 1970 he formed Passport to explore the combination of advanced jazz improvising with rockish rhythms. Passport matches Doldinger’s reeds (tenor, soprano, flute, and occasional keyboards) with an electric rhythm section. The group’s first recording (1971’s Passport) also included Olaf Kübler on second tenor and flute, organist Jimmy Jackson, electric bassist Lother Meid, and drummer Udo Lindenberg. Soon the group went through the first of many complete turnovers. The mid-’70s version usually teamed Doldinger with keyboardist Kristian Schultze, electric bassist Wolfgang Schmid, and drummer Curt Cress, and by 1978 the group had changed drastically again. However, no matter who was in the rhythm section, Klaus Doldinger’s lead voice and his band’s musical direction remained consistent through the years. Passport has released numerous albums, initially for Atlantic and subsequently via recordings and reissues for WEA and its subsidiaries and licensees, through into the 21st century, including 1996’s Passport to Paradise, 1997’s Passport Control (on Connoisseur), 1998’s Move, 2000’s Passport Live, and 2003’s Back to Brazil.
