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Ladysmith Black Mambazo of Paul Simon's 'Graceland' fame performs in Ames
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The Tribune, Ladysmith Black Mambazo of Paul Simon's 'Graceland' fame performs in Ames >>
For more than 30 years, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, the South African a cappella musical powerhouse, has mixed its native culture, rhythms and harmonies with the traditional sounds and sentiments of Christian gospel music. These unique and award-winning singers can be heard Sunday and Monday in Ames.
Chorus member Albert Mazibuko recently talked about the music they perform in a telephone interview. He said eight members will be performing on this tour, and most of them are from the same family.
"Our music originated from Zulu songs; it was the music we grew up with, because our fathers and grandfathers had passed it down," Mazibuko said.
Mambazo will be performing songs from their CD released last month, "No Boundaries." Mazibuko said the project came about when they were asked to join the English Chamber Orchestra. He said this is just another way to introduce their musical culture to the public.
The group borrows heavily from a traditional music called isicathamiya (is-cot-a-ME-Ya) that developed in the mines of South Africa, where black workers were taken by rail to work far away from their homes and their families. Poorly housed and paid worse, the mine workers would entertain themselves after a six-day week by singing songs into the wee hours on Sunday morning. When the miners returned to the homelands, this musical tradition returned with them.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo was assembled in the early 1960s in South Africa by Joseph Shabalala, then a young farm boy turned factory worker. Their name came from Shabalala's rural hometown; the Black is in reference to oxen, the strongest of all farm animals, and Mambazo is the Zulu word for axe, a symbol of the group's ability to chop down any singing rival who might challenge them. Their collective voices were so tight and their harmonies so polished that they were eventually banned from competitions, although they were welcome to participate strictly as entertainers.
In the press release Shabalala, founder and leader of the world-renowned Zulu singing group, said he has often found his group's voices used in many ways: movie soundtracks, Broadway musicals, and television and radio ads. He doesn't mind when the group is asked to do "non-African traditional" work.
"Our music, our singing, our tradition must survive and grow," Shabalala said. "We love for people to hear us, and it's good when people say to me, 'Hey, didn't I hear you on that TV commercial?' 'Yes, that was us,' I say. 'Maybe you like it and want more of our singing,' and usually they do.' "
Mazibuko said Mambazo is a mobile academy that teaches the world about the Zulu people and culture, about South Africa and all that is wonderful in that area of the world.
"It's about the preservation of our musical heritage," Mazibuko said. "I would feel bad if our music would disappear. It is beautiful, and we want to keep our traditional music and have other people learn about it."
People are recognizing the value of the music. Mambazo was awarded a Grammy for Best Traditional World Music Album (Vocal or Instrumental) for their "Raise Your Spirit Higher" album Feb. 13. Mazibuko said this was a great honor.
"It was a surprise but very wonderful," he said. "We have been nominated before, but we actually won. We are very excited."
Their first Grammy was in 1987. In the mid-1980s, Paul Simon visited South Africa and incorporated Black Mambazo's rich tenor/alto/bass harmonies into his Graceland album - a landmark 1986 recording that was instrumental in introducing world music to mainstream audiences. Since then, the group has scored six Grammy nominations.
When it comes to the audience and their music, Mazibuko said he and other group members want to promote world peace. He said the worldwide tour has provided an ambitious schedule and numerous accomplishments and accolades. And since tragedy struck the group in 2002 when Nellie Shabalala, Joseph's wife of 30 years, was murdered by a masked gunman outside their church in South Africa, they have worked harder to promote world peace and unity. To date, the identity of the assailant has not been determined and no conviction has been made.
Mazibuko said the group has changed and made a greater effort to strive for world peace. Out of this dark chapter came "Raise Your Spirit Higher - Wenyukela," Black Mambazo's brilliant debut recording released in 2004 to coincide with the 10-year anniversary of the end of apartheid. The album, which held the number one spot on the Billboard World Music chart for several months, received national sales acclaim on Billboard's Gospel and Top Independent Album charts.
Mazibuko said it was Mambazo's message of hope and unity to a troubled world. He said it really is about the music, the tradition and spreading the word of peace.
"We have worked harder to raise our spirits higher and stay above problems," Mazibuko said. "Whatever happens, we should still strive for peace and live peacefully with other people."
-Jayne Bullock 02/23/05 >> go there
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