Ladysmith Black Mambazo live to spread harmony


If you've gotta be remembered for just one thing over the course of your three-decades-plus career, you could do a lot worse than Graceland, Paul Simon's testament to the indefatigable hearts that beat beneath an oppressive apartheid regime in mid-'80s South Africa.

Just ask Ladysmith Black Mambazo, the 10-member group whose spirit-lifting harmonies leant an air of authenticity to Simon's opus while making the a cappella chorus something of a household name.

"The timing, it was so good for the song," says Albert Mazibuko, when asked about Homeless, one of the Graceland tracks on which Ladysmith makes a haunting cameo. "People were sleeping in the mountains because of the violence ... For the people of South Africa, the song was talking about their reality."

Mazibuko and his bandmates, most of whom have been together since the '70s, enjoyed a boost from Graceland, accompanying Simon on a world tour to preach their message of peace and positivity.

But the group, whose members have taken part in a few more high-profile collaborations since those days, also has a pretty stellar career of its own to be proud of, as evidenced on Long Walk to Freedom, its latest release.

The album is an aural history of sorts, featuring renditions of its most popular hits made possible by new partnerships with socially conscious types like Emmylou Harris, Taj Mahal, Sarah McLachlan and Melissa Etheridge.

"This is a celebratory album," Mazibuko explains. "It celebrates 35 years as a group and 20 years of touring the world."

Ladysmith first got acquainted with Simon after the singer-songwriter contacted leader Joseph Shabalala, expressing interest in working with the group one day. Knowing Simon only as the artist behind Bridge Over Troubled Water, the group quickly agreed to appear on the album, resulting in a partnership and friendship that's lasted to this day.

Simon isn't the only artist with which Ladysmith has shared harmonies. They've also recorded a cover of Cat Stevens' Peace Train with Dolly Parton ("She changed her attire three times!" Mazibuko recalls), appeared on a Stevie Wonder album and supplied backgrounds tracks for Ben Harper's 2003 disc Diamonds on the Inside.

It's Graceland, however, with which Mazibuko credits his group's success.

"I remember one day when I was listening to (Homeless)," he says. "I had some feeling in me that this is the song that was going to do some wonders for the group."

Ladysmith's members, of course, have witnessed more than a few non-music-related miracles in their time, chief among them the end of apartheid and the appointment of former political prisoner Nelson Mandela as president of South Africa.

"Thank God we got our freedom peacefully," Mazibuko says. "We were so lucky to have someone like Nelson Mandela become president."

Even decades after the social shift, the joy inherent in Ladysmith's performances remains a force that transcends both geographic and cultural lines.

"It is a blessing," Mazibuko says of his vocation. "But it also shows music knows no boundaries. When we sing, we are all as one."

Ladysmith Black Mambazo spread a little harmony at Burton Cummings Theatre tonight. Tickets cost $34 and $39 at Ticketmaster (www.ticketmaster.ca or 780-3333) or the Folk Festival Music Store.

-David Schmeichel