Pacific Express

Pacific Express was a South African jazz-funk/soul septet behind the 1976 EMI release Black Fire, followed by the 1977–79 Gull titles On Time! and Expressions. Their second featured veteran saxophonist Barney Rachabane. Tenor saxist Basil Coetzee made the subsequent solo album Plum and Cherry while trumpeter Robbie Jansen resurfaced in Johannesburg stars Juluka. 

Members: Paul Abrahams (bass), Issy Ariefdien (guitar, vocals), Robbie Jansen (trumpet, alto saxophone, flute, vocals), Chris Schilder [aka Ebrahim Khalil Shihab] (electric piano, 1975-?), Basil Coetzee (tenor saxophone, flute), Jack Momple (drums, percussion), Zayn Adams [Zayn Adam] (vocals, percussion), Vic Higgins (percussion), Barney Rachabane (alto saxophone), Stompie Manana (trumpet), Tony Cedras (keyboards, trumpet), Jonathan Butler (vocals, guitar, 1978-?)

Background

Pacific Express formed in Cape Town in the early 1970s when guitarist Issy Ariefdien joined the Eureka Lounge house band the Pacifics and rebuilt the group around bassist Paul Abrahams, the sole member retained from the earlier lineup. Drummer Jack Momple joined Ariefdien and Abrahams in the new group. Reedman Basil Coetzee joined from Respect, while fellow reedman Robbie Jansen arrived from the Rockets.

Ariefdien grew up in Bo-Kaap and Elsies River, where his father gave him his first guitar. He joined the Magnets in the mid-1960s. Late in 1967, he co-founded Respect with bassist Melly da Silva. Momple came from Durban, where he started as rhythm guitarist in the Scoots and switched to drums. He took a 1967 Cape Town residency with the Chayn Gang and later returned to the city, where he gigged with the Exotics.

Coetzee grew up in District Six and taught himself pennywhistle, drums, flute, and tenor saxophone. In May 1970, he joined Ariefdien and Momple in Respect. Jansen started on mouth organ and concertina, then joined the Rockets as guitarist-singer. In December 1969, they won a Battle of the Bands contest and flew to London, where Jansen embraced alto saxophone.

Pacific Express reshaped the Eureka Lounge repertoire around jazz-rock through several lineup changes. Club owners often resisted the jazz-oriented sets, which limited regular bookings. In 1974, they welcomed singer Zayn Adam, who first performed at fifteen in the Golden City Dixies carnival show and later joined a Johannesburg calypso trio.

Pacific Express performed at the 1975 opening of the Sherwood Lounge in Manenberg, where they established residency with pianist Chris Schilder, a Cape Town native from a musical family led by his pianist-composer mother. In 1969, Schilder recorded Spring with saxophonist Winston Mankunku Ngozi. At the Sherwood, Schilder brought his compositions into the repertoire, while the core group worked through arrangements in informal parlour rehearsals. Jansen and Coetzee moved in and out of the horn section around other bookings. In September and October 1976, manager Patrick Lee-Thorp organized the album sessions at UCA Studios in Cape Town for Black Fire.

Discography:

• Black Fire (1976)
• On Time! (1978)
• Expressions (1979)

References and notes

• Warren Ludski, Issy Ariefdien interview — Ariefdien childhood, the Magnets, Respect, the Eureka Lounge Pacifics, Paul Abrahams as the surviving Pacifics member, and the transition to Pacific Express. (MUSIC LEGENDS OF CAPE TOWN)
• Warren Ludski, Basil Coetzee profile — Coetzee joined Respect in May 1970; Ariefdien, Momple, Coetzee, Jansen and others formed the early Pacific Express lineup in the early 1970s. (MUSIC LEGENDS OF CAPE TOWN)
• Warren Ludski, Rockets history — Jansen and Georgie Carelse left the Rockets as Ariefdien, Momple and Abrahams assembled Pacific Express at the Eureka Lounge; the Rockets chronology places that transition around 1970–71. (MUSIC LEGENDS OF CAPE TOWN)
• Warren Ludski, Jack Momple interview — Momple full name, Durban origins, the Scoots, switch from guitar to drums, Chayn Gang trip, relocation to Cape Town and the Exotics. (MUSIC LEGENDS OF CAPE TOWN)
• South African History Online, Basil Coetzee — District Six childhood, pennywhistle, drums, flute, tenor saxophone and self-taught development. (South African History Online)
• Sunday Times, Zayn Adam obituary — Salt River origins, guitar, Golden City Dixies, Johannesburg calypso work, recruitment by Pacific Express, Schilder joining in 1975 and the October 1976 debut-album sessions. (Sunday Times)
• Sunday Times, Robbie Jansen obituary — mouth organ and concertina, early bands, Rockets period, London trip and move toward saxophone and flute. (Sunday Times)
• Gwen Ansell, “Black Fire” — early-1970s chronology, 1975 Sherwood Lounge opening, Schilder recruitment, parlour rehearsals, Jansen and Coetzee participation, Patrick Lee-Thorp and UCA Studios. (Africa Is a Country)
• Mail & Guardian, Ibrahim Khalil Shihab interview — Schilder family background, pianist-composer mother, early piano study and Club Normandy work. (Mail & Guardian)
• Matsuli Music, Black Fire — UCA Studios, September/October 1976; Richard Mitchell engineering; Schilder compositions, arrangements and production; debut personnel. (Matsuli Music)