Ladysmith Black Mambazo

Raise Your Spirit Higher/Wenyukela

Heads Up

When Paul Simon traveled to South Africa to record Graceland in the mid-1980s, no shortage of controversy erupted over his appropriation of the music of another culture. But if Simon had not made that record, would the rest of the world ever have come to know the wonders of Joseph Shabalala and his wonderful group? Ladysmith Black Mambazo is so rich in its harmonic language and so varied in its textures and timbres, it makes just about every other a cappella group sound stilted. And the group's magic goes well beyond singing; clicks, purrs, buzzes, and percussive sounds connect the music to an ancient past somehow kept alive through the generations.

            Wenyukela, a Zulu term meaning "raise your spirit higher," is an appropriate title for an album full of songs that urge world harmony and perseverance in the face of adversity. Although many of the tunes are not sung in English, the sound is so beautiful, so resonant and universal, that the message comes through.

            The struggle of black South Africans over their entire modern history is a powerful undercurrent throughout, but this album contains an added dimension of endurance. In the summer of 2002, the violence that has permeated his country directly affected Shabalala when a masked gunman killed his wife in a church parking lot. "Tribute," the album's final tune, may seem out of place, but this brief hip-hop cut, sung by Shabalala's grandsons, is dedicated to the memory of their grandmother.

--- Ron Netsky