Thandi Klaasen

Thandi Klaasen (née Mpambane; 1930/1931 – 15 January 2017) was a jazz musician from Sophiatown, Gauteng. She was the mother of singer Lorraine Klaasen.

Thandi Mpambane grew up in Sophiatown, the daughter of a shoemaker and a domestic worker. When she was a teenager, she was attacked with petrol and matches and her face was permanently scarred. Her career as a singer and dancer began in the mid-1950s. In 1961, she moved to London to work in the musical King Kong. She performed with Dolly Rathebe, Miriam Makeba, Dorothy Masuka, and others. Thandi Klaasen died from pancreatic cancer on 15 January 2017, aged 86. she will be greatly missed. may her soul rest in peace

Klaasen was awarded South Africa's Order of the Baobab in Gold (2006) for "excellent achievement in and contribution to the art of Music". In August 2013, as part of the Women's Month celebrations, Klaasen and four other icons of South African jazz - Abigail Kubheka, Dorothy Masuka, Sathima Bea Benjamin and Sylvia Mdunyelwa - were honoured by Standard Bank with lifetime achievement awards. Other awards she has received include the Woman of Distinction Award received in Canada (1999), and a lifetime achievement award at the 2006 South African Music Awards.

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