Thandi klaasen biography of michael

Yesterday was a sad day for South African jazz. Although Thandi Klaasen had been suffering severe ill-health for some time, her death from complications following a stroke, aged 86, still felt shocking.

She had been such an indomitable musician – and human being – and had shown the capacity to bounce back from setbacks throughout her life.

As the tributes were posted, however, something else shocked: how little many of those tribute-writers knew about Klaasen’s musicianship.

Certainly – because they share a musical generation (she was Madiba’s favourite vocalist), and because Klaasen did feature at some high-profile official events – the tributes from ruling-party politicians felt much more personally sincere than they sometimes do.

But, outside family and co-performers, few seemed to know about her music beyond the song Sophiatown, and only the ANCWL even mentioned her outspoken, articulate  activism on behalf of women in music (not surprisingly a stock phrase in