Nowhere in Africa did jazz take root more strongly and convincingly than it did in South Africa in the ‘50s. Early combos like The Jazz Epistles melded the ebullient melodies of local kwela with swing. The great beauty of the music—made under the repression of Apartheid—involved freely combining local and global sounds, which propelled singer Miriam Makeba (“The Click Song”) and trumpeter Hugh Masekela (“Mamani”) to global stardom. Bassist Johnny Dyani (“Song for Biko”) embraced the avant-garde in Europe, while thrilling young British reedist Shabaka Hutchings (“Mzwandile”) has made an entire album with Johannesburg-based Ancestors.