by Scott YanowKlaus Doldinger is best known as the saxophonist and leader of Passport, one of Europe's leading fusion groups of the 1970s, 80s and 90s. This particular CD is a complete change of pace since it gives listeners a rare opportunity to hear Doldinger in New York playing straight ahead jazz. His tenor playing sometimes recalls Stanley Turrentine a bit while his soprano sounds more original and is quite fluent. For the special project, Doldinger teams up with some of New York's best: pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist Charnett Moffett, drummer Victor Lewis and, on a few numbers, vibraphonist Roy Ayers and percussionist Don Alias. The group plays five of the saxophonist's originals (best is "Coco-Motion") and seven standards including "I Got It Bad," "Skylark," "Well You Needn't," and "Speak Low." This is an excellent if obscure effort that is worth searching for.