African Jazz generally originated in South Africa. During the music style's beginnings, it was a mirror of the jazz scene in America, but it eventually adopted strong South African influences. It went on to become a cultural phenomenon as a similar style was found in all countries of Africa, but with little or no jazz influence or reference today. This African style of music is today classified as part of the World Music family.
Allmusic.com cites Township Jazz as a major subgenre, describing it as "an urban style based on the traditional marabi sound" and noting that it is "often called 'jive'".
The Burkinabé military leader Thomas Sankara was lead guitarist of the band Tout-à-Coup Jazz in the 1970s.
Jazz now
"Jazz" in Africa has become quite popular. Groups began to appear sporadically in large cities in most African countries. Some famous artists of the genre include Orchestra Baobab of Senegal, Habib Koite of Mali, and other artists hailing from Uganda and other various countries with a European colonial history. The word jazz is often mistakenly ascribed to African music that has no connection to jazz today.