“For me, the spirit of South Africa can be found in music,” Cape Town jazz innovator Abdullah Ibrahim tells Apple Music, introducing his exclusive playlist celebrating Africa Month. “We have the traditional Christmas marching bands, the talented buskers who give life to the streets, great jazz musicians like Kippie Moeketsi and Johnny Dyani, whom I played with for many years—and, last but not least, protest songs against the apartheid that suppressed my country for so many generations.” Although it's “hard to encapsulate,” the prolific pianist and composer also explores the continent’s musical breadth. “There’s spiritual mbira music from Zimbabwe,” he says. “Then storytelling from Cameroonian Njamy Sitson, work songs from migrant laborers going through Johannesburg, and some traditional music from Sotho—the land of my father.”