According to Ballantine Isicathamiya is the most important vocal style to have emergedin South Africa this century.186 Parallel to the importance of this pure vocal style, aninstrumental style called marabi developed around the time of the First World War andremained prominent throughout the second and third decades of the 20th century.187In Marabi Nights, one of the first books that explored the development and impact ofSouth African jazz, Ballantine describes it as “[a] rhythmically propulsive dance music”that draws “its melodic inspiration eclectically from a wide variety of sources, whileharmonically it rested – as did blues – upon an endlessly repeating chord”.188Furthermore, Ballantine argues that the correlation between marabi (South Africa) andblues (America) extended further in that both had influences on the societies practisingthe above genres

According to Ballantine Isicathamiyais the most important vocal style to have emerged in South Africa this century.186Parallel to the importance of this pure vocal style, an instrumental style called marabi developed around the time of the First World Warandremained prominent throughout the second and third decades of the 20thcentury.187In Marabi Nights,one of the first books that explored the development and impact of South African jazz, Ballantine describes itas “[a] rhythmicallypropulsive dance music”