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Get up! Ladysmith Black Mambazo raises your spirits higher
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The Stamford Advocate, Get up! Ladysmith Black Mambazo raises your spirits higher >>
Ladysmith Black Mambazo's new disc is called "Raise Your Spirits Higher -- Wenyukela," but in the time leading up to its recording, the esteemed South African a cappella group had a hard time heeding its own advice.
In the spring of 2002, founder Joseph Shabalala's wife was senselessly murdered in a church parking lot. To date, no one has been convicted.
But just as their music has uplifted most who have experienced it, it helped its creators through the dark spell.
"Our hearts were very troubled at that time," says Albert Mazibuko, an original member and cousin of Shabalala. "We went on stage with very sad hearts but the songs uplifted us and we realized the music was still as powerful as it was before."
So it is with Ladysmith Black Mambazo, which takes its name from Shabalala's hometown, a reference to oxen (the strongest of farm animals) and the Zulu word for ax, respectively. The group's mixture of traditional South African styles (the rural isicathamiya is the most notable) and Christian gospel has made the group an international hit despite the obvious barriers of an African act singing in its native tongue.
"It gives you power and energy," Mazibuko says of his group's uplifting nature. "It clears the mind and calms the heart."
Ladysmith Black Mambazo appears at the Performing Arts Center at Purchase College tomorrow.
This year notes a dual anniversary for the singing group: It not only marks its 30th year together but also 10 years since South Africa abolished apartheid.
Although the group is now viewed as musical ambassadors of peace, Mazibuko remembers a time when most South Africans and some Christians weren't open to the group's sound and message. Shabalala experienced a reawakening in the early 1960s, and within time the entire band would convert to Christianity. Early in their career, a fortune teller told them to stick with their spiritual message.
"People were very ashamed of it except for the people who were singing it because it was a music for black people," he says. "But we were going to use lyrics that are going to empower the black people and make them feel good about themselves."
After winning talent contests in South Africa to the point that it was banned from competing in them, Ladysmith Black Mambazo scored its first recording contract in 1970 after a radio performance.
Mazibuko remembers when Paul Simon came to South Africa to find the group for his "Graceland" album in 1986. "We said all of our prayers have been answered," he remembers. Simon's vote of approval opened the gates for American appeal. A year later, the Simon-produced "Shaka Zulu" won a Grammy award for Best Traditional Folk album. Since then, the group has worked with Stevie Wonder, Dolly Parton and George Clinton.
"Raise Your Spirits Higher" was released in January and is among more than a dozen Mambazo albums available in the United States. Among the most moving tracks -- and the only sung in English -- is "Tribute," in which Shabalala's grandchildren urge him to remain strong.
The current concert gives the 10-man outfit's younger members a chance to show off, according to Mazibuko. As for the veteran members, they remember dreaming about the opportunity of playing all over the world.
"Our aim was to share this music and it has been a dream come true, in fact," he says.
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what: Ladysmith Black Mambazo
where: The Performing Arts Center, Purchase College, 735 Anderson Hill Road, Purchase, N.Y.
when: Tomorrow, 8 p.m.
price: $40 and $50
contact: (914) 251-6200 02/19/04 >> go there
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