Pacific Express – On Time (1978)

As a special Friday surprise electricjive is pleased to present the final instalment in the Pacific Express story – their LP On Time – containing the hits The Way It Used to Be, Give a Little Love and We Got a Good Thing Going On.

This 1978 album has the same core team of Chris Schilder (paino, keyboards, backing vocals); Zayn 'The Voice' Adams, Jack Momple (drums), Paul Abrahams (fender bass), Vic Higgins (percussion and sounds), Issy Arafdien (guitar), Basil Coetzee (tenor), Barney Rachabane (alto), Stompie Manana (trumpet), with "Erica" on lead vocals. All the songs, except "Good Old Song" were composed by Chris Schilder - whose exceptional jazz piano we will feature a lot more in sharing Ian Huntley's archive.

Earlier on in the band's history, Robbie Jansen took the alto role. By the time of this album Jansen was playing with Spirits Rejoice. In their book "Unsung", (Sun Press, 2007) Chats Devroop and Chris Walton relate an interview with Robbie Jansen where he describes how Basil Coetzee introduced him to jazz, and what it was like playing with Pacific Express. "Basil first of all gave me a couple of jazz albums to listen to .. I started on the tenor sax but because Basil was playing the tenor sax I had to move to alto. ... and I got an alto sax to buy for R25. That's why I actually went to join the Pacifics, because Basil was a good saxophone player, a jazz sax player. Here I am going to learn all I need to learn ...  I got twenty-five rand a week playing with Pacific Express when I got married, and that was playing every night, seven nights a week. That was a hundred rand a month. That was good money."

Pacific Express – On Time
1. We Got A Good Thing Going On
2. I Hear Music
3. Angel of Love
4. Good Old Song
5. Saturday Night
6. Give a Little Love
7. Dream
8. Reaching Out for Your Love
9. Say The Last Goodbye
10. The Way It Used to Be
Enjoy! RS / MF