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The Express Times , Concert Preview >>
Drama, music celebrates Black History
Friday, February 03, 206
By SUSAN KALAN
The Express-Times
Black History Month in the Lehigh Valley and Northwest New Jersey boasts a variety of activities for all ages.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo kicks off the action 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Zoellner Arts Center at Lehigh University in Bethlehem.
A free lecture/demonstration will be presented 4:15 p.m., reservations required. A free pre-show talk at 7 p.m. will be presented by William Scott, Lehigh professor of history and director of Africana studies.
Late-night television viewers may have seen this group's uplifting presentation within the past two weeks on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," performing with special guest Sarah McLachlan, and on mid-morning's "The Ellen DeGeneres Show."
The Grammy-winning Ladysmith Black Mambazo celebrates the release of a star-studded album, "Long Walk to Freedom," on Heads Up International, in recognition of its 20th anniversary of ascendancy to the world stage and the dawning of democracy in South Africa 12 years ago.
The album is a collection of 12 new recordings of classic Mambazo songs, with guest performances by Melissa Etheridge, Emmylou Harris, Taj Mahal, Joe McBride, Sarah McLachlan, Natalie Merchant and Zap Mama. Among the South African artists featured are Lucky Dube, Bhekumunzi Luthuli, Vusi Mahlasela, Hugh Masekela, Nokukhanya, Phuezkhemisi, and Thandiswa.
Mambazo frontman/founder is Joseph Shabalala, a young farm boy-turned-factory worker whose musical group received a global welcome 20 years ago by Paul Simon with Simon's groundbreaking 1986 recording, "Graceland."
Eight years later, South African artists were able to bear witness to racial inequality in their homeland and an end to the centuries-old practice of apartheid.
The traditional music sung by Ladysmith Black Mambazo is called isicathamiya, from the South African mines where black workers toiled for low wages, far from their families, according to a news release.
To entertain themselves, the workers sang and danced quietly so as not to disturb camp security guards. When they returned to the homelands, they brought tradition with them.
The release also explains how the name Ladysmith Black Mambazo came about as a result of winning every singing competition in which the group entered. Ladysmith is Shabalala's hometown, Black refers to the strong oxen of the farm, and Mambazo is the Zulu word for ax, a symbol of the group's ability to chop down a singing rival.
Tickets: $28-$23. Information: 610-758-2787. 02/03/06 >> go there
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