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South African jazz, also known as "SA jazz," has a unique sound that reflects the country's diverse cultural heritage. Influenced by traditional African music, European jazz, and American blues, SA jazz has produced legendary musicians like Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba, and Abdullah Ibrahim.

In the mid-1970s, students at the Berklee College of Music compiled the original Real Book , a bootleg collection of lead sheets that would go on to define the modern jazz canon. For decades, this compilation—along with its legal successors published by Sher Music and Hal Leonard—has served as the primary pedagogical tool for jazz students worldwide. To be included in the Real Book is to be admitted into the pantheon of "standards." Yet, a critical examination of these texts reveals a glaring omission: the near-total absence of South African jazz.