The relevance of a systematic shifting of otherwise isochronous smallest time units (pulses) in African musics has long been neglected. Similar ways of phrasing, a specific kind of micro-timing or groove, can be found in various African and other musics. While the swing phenomenon as a hallmark of most jazz is another case in point this does not necessarily imply African "roots"of this typical micro-temporal organization. Any hypothesis would have to take into account that such a non-isochronous phrasing can have been developed independently in various parts of the world.