A landmark achievement for the region’s music scene, The South African Jazz Real Book Vol. 1: Jika
Hailing from the Western Cape, this style incorporates the joyous, carnival-esque rhythms of the Kaapse Klopse (Cape Town Minstrel Carnival) and a distinct brass-heavy sound.
In western jazz education, a "Real Book" is a collection of lead sheets helping musicians quickly learn the melody (the head), chord progressions, and structure of a song. A South African Jazz Real Book applies this exact format to the rich catalog of South African jazz composition.
Formatting the book
It represents the culmination of a years-long, painstaking project to track down composers, secure rights, and accurately transcribe the music that defines the South African jazz genre.
Look for "Mannenberg" (often called the unofficial national anthem of South Africa), "Water from an Ancient Well," and "Wedding." His style combines Cape Malay musical traditions with gospel and Monk-influenced jazz.
: Many South African jazz educators are willing to share PDF lead sheets for educational, non-commercial use to help spread the genre globally.
Institutions like the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) have internal instructional "Real Books" compiled by professors to teach students the regional jazz idioms.
Hard-driving township music featuring heavy basslines and cyclical chord patterns.
Unlike traditional American jazz standards found in the classic Hal Leonard Real Books , South African jazz is uniquely tied to political liberation, folk melodies, and indigenous rhythms. During the apartheid regime, black musicians were largely banned from formal recording studios and venues, forcing the musical movement underground into illegal performance spaces called shebeens.
A landmark achievement for the region’s music scene, The South African Jazz Real Book Vol. 1: Jika
Hailing from the Western Cape, this style incorporates the joyous, carnival-esque rhythms of the Kaapse Klopse (Cape Town Minstrel Carnival) and a distinct brass-heavy sound.
In western jazz education, a "Real Book" is a collection of lead sheets helping musicians quickly learn the melody (the head), chord progressions, and structure of a song. A South African Jazz Real Book applies this exact format to the rich catalog of South African jazz composition.
Formatting the book
It represents the culmination of a years-long, painstaking project to track down composers, secure rights, and accurately transcribe the music that defines the South African jazz genre.
Look for "Mannenberg" (often called the unofficial national anthem of South Africa), "Water from an Ancient Well," and "Wedding." His style combines Cape Malay musical traditions with gospel and Monk-influenced jazz.
: Many South African jazz educators are willing to share PDF lead sheets for educational, non-commercial use to help spread the genre globally.
Institutions like the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) have internal instructional "Real Books" compiled by professors to teach students the regional jazz idioms.
Hard-driving township music featuring heavy basslines and cyclical chord patterns.
Unlike traditional American jazz standards found in the classic Hal Leonard Real Books , South African jazz is uniquely tied to political liberation, folk melodies, and indigenous rhythms. During the apartheid regime, black musicians were largely banned from formal recording studios and venues, forcing the musical movement underground into illegal performance spaces called shebeens.