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Sounds of Zulu culture echo in Stephens
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The Tribune, Sounds of Zulu culture echo in Stephens >>
If you wanted to take in some athletics, you might have been better off heading over to Stephens Auditorium. I doubt if any of the players on the court in Hilton Coliseum would have been able to make a kick above head-level look as effortless as Ladysmith Black Mambazo did.
With amazing grace in dance and in sound, the men of Ladysmith had their sweet blend of native Zulu and Christian gospel traditions echoing through Stephens. Smiling a bit more than usual after their recent Grammy win for their "Wenyukela: Raising Your Spirit Higher" CD, the group showed how it lives up to the "mambazo" in its name - a Zulu word meaning "axe," referring to the group's ability to chop down any challenger in a singing competition.
The group's longer-than-usual songs allowed them ample time to improvise with tongue clicks, claps, yips, lip flaps and even a bird call. And each man stepped forward to demonstrate his prowess in Zulu dance with quick stepwork, high kicks and even higher leaps.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo has become known as a cultural emissary for South Africa, and its members didn't miss the opportunity to share bits of Zulu culture before and between songs. But perhaps the most persuasive cultural message came through the music itself, even though many of the words weren't understood by most of the audience.
Even without the lyrics, this music speaks to the blood because it comes from the blood, Joseph Shabalala, the group's leader, is quoted as saying in the "Wenyukela" CD liner notes. And the audience can almost hear the music's journey - each phrase starts with a breath that swells into a note and finds its place in the harmony of others before rolling out over the audience in a lush wave.
It's the kind of music that reverberates for a moment after the singing stops. Its spirit floats in the air like an invitation to take a bit of it with you, into the tangled parking lot and beyond.
-Heidi Marttila-Losure 03/01/05 >> go there
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