The Jazz Passengers were founded in l987 by Saxophonist Roy Nathanson and Trombonist Curtis Fowlkes. The two musicians met in the band of the Big Apple Circus and toured extensively together in John Lurie's seminal band The Lounge Lizards. They found strong affinity in their Brooklyn roots, their affection for hard bop, comedy and eccentric currents in modern American music. In l989 Bob Blumenthal wrote in the Boston Globe, "The seven piece Passengers often suggest a perverse mainstrean band, a hard-bop group as imagined by Frank Zappa." This is an apt description of the two leaders intention in forming the band.

"The Passengers are one of the few jazz bands that take risks and still remain highly entertaining." (Atlantic Monthly)