Ladysmith Black Mambazo “Raise Your Spirit Higher” (2003, Heads Up International)

Known for their vocals on Paul Simon’s “Graceland,” the sound-track to “The Lion King,” or even through a Lifesavers candy commercial, this group from South Africa has spread the joys of Zulu vocal harmony and dancing steps all over the planet since it’s founding in the 1960s.

Founding member Joseph Shabalala named the band after his rural hometown of Ladysmith, with Mambazo the Zulu word for ax, which described the group’s prowess at musically “head-cutting” and would-be competitors.

Like much of the great music of South Africa, the traditional styles they use reflect the songs of the laborers, the gold and diamond miners whose sweat and toil built the former British colony into an African economic powerhouse.

Shabalala, a former factory worker, fused this style with Christian gospel music, creating songs of faith and hope amid the recent trials of apartheid and the current AIDS pandemic wracking his country.

This a capella CD pares down their sound to its most elemental: spare, beautiful rhythms and harmonies of the bass, baritone and tenor vocals of the 10-strong group.  The soft whoops, thrums and lipcking add subtle percussion. The songs, like many African tunes, often urge listeners to respect their culture, to live sensibility, to love family and friends, and even buckle up seat belts when driving.

One number blends into the next in a lovely, meditative fashion, creating a soothing, soulful experience that can truly lift the most flagging spirits, a balm of healing in troubled global times.

Highly recommended: FIVE STARS.