Robbie Jansen

Robert Edward Jansen (5 August 1949 – 7 July 2010) was a South African musician. He was born in Cape Town, South Africa. Biography Jansen began his career in the pop band The Rockets. The first instruments he played were concertina and mouth organ. The repertoire of the first bands he played with consisted of British pop of the hippie era. But after a trip to London, which was part of a prize in a band competition, he discovered black music from the U.S. and in particular groups with brass sections and he decided he wanted to be a brass instrument player. Brass instrument bands were not new to him as his father was associated with Salvation Army bands, but Jansen chose rock and jazz. He played in the brass section of Cape Town's jazz-rock group The Pacific Express. From there he began a solo career as a singer and saxophonist. His first nationwide recognition in South Africa was as a member of the Dollar Brand group. He and saxophonist Basil Coetzee toured and recorded with Brand on Mannenberg sessions. He later recorded with Brand, also known as Abdullah Ibrahim, on other projects. His work with Brand and Coetzee in the 1970s introduced him to jazz audiences, and he became a leading figure in Cape Jazz. He signed with Mountain Records and was instrumental in encouraging the record label to collect works from their archive to issue the first definitive Cape Jazz collection album. South African duo Johnny Clegg and Sipho Mchunu hired Jansen to play flute and saxophone on Juluka's debut album, Universal Men. Jansen joined the band for their next two albums, but he departed between African Litany and Ubuhle Bemvelo to resume his solo career.