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Review
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The Observer, Review >>
The sound of Ladysmith Black Mambazo is unmistakable. Over the past 15 years, these singers of traditional South African music have become cultural ambassadors around the world. The group sings a style called Isicathamiya, which was first sung by black South African mine workers. The music was forbidden under apartheid and Mambazo has since become a national treasure as it has been brought back to worldwide attention. Mambazo accompanied the South African President F. W. deKlerk to the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Olso, Norway in 1993 and performed at Nelson Mandela's inauguration in 1994. The full, rich and rhythmic a capella sound of Mambazo is perhaps most famous for its appearance on Paul Simon's 1997 release "Graceland." The album was one of the most influential works in a burst of world music that entered popular culture and was certainly instrumental to Mambazo's fame.
"Shaka Zulu," the group's first U.S. release, won a Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album. Since then the group has been nominated for six additional Grammys. Mambazo has also performed with George Clinton, Stevie Wonder, Dolly Parton and Ben Harper. Their performance on Sesame Street with Paul Simon is also one of the top three most requested segments of the show's history. Groups with the talent and political power of Mambazo are truly few and far between.
-Maria Smith 03/02/05 >> go there
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