Ataraxia (Sky Blue)

A rather middling effort by Passport, Sky Blue starts off promisingly enough with the slowly building and cascading keyboards of "Atraxia." But most of the album is undercut by thin and enervated keyboard sounds and a soporifically smooth brand of fusion sax. "Locomotive" chugs along on borrowed momentum from the train sounds that begin it, along with somewhat more aggressive guitar work by Roy Louis. But the closing "Alegria" is the only truly rousing track on this album; propelled along by Willy Ketzer's drums and Guillermo Marchena's cacophonous percussion, it hints at the lively performance that a more energized Passport was capable of. — Paul Collins.