Klaus Doldinger

German Jazz saxophonist, clarinetist and composer of TV and movie soundtracks and scores; husband of Inge Doldinger, father.
Born May 12, 1936 in Berlin, Germany,
Died October 16, 2025 in Icking, Germany.
Doldinger was best known as a Fusion musician in the 1970s with his band Passport and as a famous composer of film soundtracks (Das Boot (opens in a new tab), The Neverending Story (opens in a new tab)) as well as the title melody of Germany's famous TV series "Tatort (opens in a new tab)".
Doldinger started studying piano and clarinet at the age of 16 in Düsseldorf at the.
In 1952, he became a member of a Dixie-band called "The Feetwarmers". In 1955, he founded his first Jazz band called, named after his idol Oscar Peterson. At the same time, he studied sound engineering and eventually, from 1960 to 1962, went on a tour through the United States, where he earned a honorary citizenship in New Orleans. In 1962, he founded Klaus Doldinger Quartett. This band was a popular Jazz ensemble in the 1960s and recorded a couple of influential albums.
In 1968, he turned to Jazz Rock and Fusion and founded a new band called Motherhood together with e.g. Udo Lindenberg and Lothar Meid. In 1971, the band evolved into the successor band Passport, which became one of the most influential bands of German Fusion Rock in the 1970s. With changing line-ups the band was active between 1971 and 1985 and again from 2016 until 2021.
In the 1960s, Doldinger also worked as a composer of advertisement scores. In 1970 he wrote his memorable "Tatort" theme, which remained the theme tune of this German detective series until today. As composer of the soundtracks for "The Neverending Story" and "Das Boot", he received international acclaim.