DEATH OF ROBBIE JANSEN

National Arts Festival mourns loss of SA jazz legend.

As tributes pour in for the legendary Cape Town based jazz musician Robbie Jansen, who passed away last week after battling with emphysema for several years, the committee and organisers of the National Arts Festival wish to add their deepest sympathy and support for his family and friends, and the jazz community, for the huge loss.

“I first heard Robbie Jansen playing in Grahamstown in 1989, with Basil Coetzee and Sabenza, and it was a thrill to have him back in Grahamstown in 2010,” said Alan Webster, Standard Bank Jazz Festival director and National Arts Festival committee member for jazz. “I couldn’t believe the energy of his performance, despite his physical constraints, and all of that strength and soaring technique of the 80’s came rushing through the DSG Hall. It was a privilege to have him at this year’s festival.”

Jansen, who with Abdullah Ibrahim and Basil Coetzee brought Cape Town’s jazz to the notice of the world, has been a South African jazz festival fixture for many years, contributing immensely to the standard of the genre in the country. His last performance was in the Cape Jazz Spectacular at the recent Standard Bank Jazz Festival in Grahamstown.

His passing will be intensely felt by the Festival, and by the local and international jazz community.