Jazz saxophonist Robbie Jansen is still in a critical condition in a Cape Town hospital following his collapse last week, Mountain Records MD Patrick Lee-Thorp said on Monday.
”He is slipping in and out of consciousness. But some eye movement last night was a big breakthrough. It put our hopes up,” Lee-Thorp said.
Jansen was one of a group of musicians who played on the jazz classic Mannenberg with Dollar Brand, now Abdullah Ibrahim, in 1974.
He was found by his daughter Rene at home last week and was rushed to hospital, where he was treated for lung failure. He is currently in the intensive care unit of Tygerberg hospital’s respiratory unit.
”It is bad news for South African music history and bad news for Cape jazz. The music fraternity has been in a state of shock,” said Lee-Thorp.
”He is pretty much the guru of Cape jazz. Robbie is a wonderful entertainer. There are a lot of fabulous musicians, a lot of academic musicians and they don’t understand that you have to entertain. He knew that they were paying the piper and that is a humble thing as an artist.”
Jansen, who has emphysema, started battling with his condition over the past two years, Lee-Thorp said, adding that it is sad that he collapsed just before an international tour he had been planning for a long time.
Jansen, on alto sax, was one of three saxophonists who played on Mannenberg. Basil Coetzee, on tenor sax and flute, died in 1998. Morris Goldberg, also on alto sax, now lives in New York and plays for a band called Ojoyo, playing ”Safrojazz”.
Drummer Monty Weber died a few years ago after a long battle with diabetes that resulted in one of his arms being amputated.
Paul Michaels, who played bass, went into gospel music and lives in Cape Town with his family. Pianist Abdullah Ibrahim divides his time between South Africa and New York, where he lived in exile during apartheid.
Jansen’s career has included playing with the bands Pacific Express, Spirits Rejoice, Workforce, a stint with Coetzee and his band Sabenza. His debut solo was Vastrap Island, with his latest album being The Cape Doctor. — Sapa