Happy birthday, Boeta Robbie

Robbie Jansen, legendary Cape Town jazz saxophonist, flautist and singer, turns 60 today (August 5 2009) … and I am fortunate to pay tribute to this musical great while he is still alive.

These days it is quite sad to see Jansen perform with his ever-present oxygen tank. He still tries to hit the high notes with his alto sax and his vocals, but he often has to pause to regain his composure in between songs.

This is a far cry from the days when Jansen used to play with the Rockets, one of Cape Town’s oldest band, Pacific Express, Spirits Rejoice, Workforce and, of course, Abdullah Ibrahim who himself is celebrating a milestone later this year: he turns 75 in October.

A few years ago, Jansen was virtually on his death bed and musicians in Cape Town were planning memorials. That he survives is testimony to a brave soul who refuses to give up. Whenever he performs publicly nowadays, Jansen pays homage to the support he received during those dark days.

There are some people who feel Jansen should stop playing; they don’t like to see the sight of him with his oxygen tank, struggling to catch his breath. They hate to see him hardly being able to stand on stage.

But this is the essence of the man; this is what makes him tick.

He enjoys performing; he enjoys singing his trademark Georgia on My Mind which he has “South Africanised”, with references to Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha. He enjoys producing what has become known as Cape Jazz, whether it on his own or with the band that has become known as The Sons of Table Mountain.

And, unfortunately, because of the way many musicians in this country have been exploited over the years, Jansen is probably forced to perform to sustain himself.

In the eighties I was fortunate to live close to one of Jansen’s close friends, Basil “Manenberg” Coetzee, in Rocklands, Mitchells Plain. Coetzee had at that time decided to stop performing publicly and I used to sit with him and talk to him a lot about his musical career.

He decided to return to the stage a few years later, and had a revival in his career before he died. At his funeral, I listened to everybody pay tribute to him and thought about how important it is to pay tribute to people while they are still alive.

So, on behalf of my generation, who grew up to the music of people such as Jansen, Ibrahim and Coetzee, I want to pay tribute to a living legend. And may he be with us for many years to come. Happy birthday, Boeta Robbie.