Ladysmith Black Mambazo

Thursday, March 4
7:30 pm in Wait Chapel

Over twenty years ago, Paul Simon collaborated with Ladysmith Black Mambazo to produce the “Graceland” album, hailed by many critics as shaping the surge of interest in world music. Ladysmith Black Mambazo sang at Queen Elizabeth II’s 50th Anniversary as Monarch, joining Eric Clapton, Sir Paul McCartney, and several other prominent singers. Ladysmith also appeared at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony of 1993, on the “Ellen DeGeneres Show,” and “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno. Garnering several Grammy awards over the past two decades (most recently one in 2009 for Best Traditional World Music CD), Ladysmith Black Mambazo is cherished by audiences worldwide for their rich vocalizations, authentic world-music, and “celebration of the human spirit” (Boston Herald).

As cultural ambassadors both at home and abroad, Ladysmith Black Mambazo represents the customs of their native South Africa through traditional music called Isicathamiya (Is-Cot-A-Me-Ya). It was born in the mines of South Africa. Black workers were taken by rail to work far away from their homes and families. Poorly housed and paid very little, they would entertain themselves, after a six day week, by singing songs into the wee hours every Sunday morning. When miners returned to their homelands, the tradition returned with them. In 1964, Joseph Shabalala, after singing with several groups, returned to Ladysmith from Durban and founded his own ensemble. He recalls: “a harmonious dream came to me. I always heard the harmony from that dream and I said ‘This is the sound that I want and I can teach it to my guys’.”

The name Ladysmith Black Mambazo came about as a result of winning every singing competition in which the group entered. “Ladysmith” is the hometown of the Shabalala family; “Black” references the black oxen, considered to be the strongest on the farm. The Zulu word “Mambazo” refers to an ax- symbolic of the group’s ability to “chop down” the competition. So good were they that after a time they were forbidden to enter the competitions but welcomed, of course, to entertain at them.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo continues to perform around the world, crossing ethnic, cultural and country lines, bringing Joseph Shabalala’s message of “Peace, Love and Harmony.” His ambition is to establish the first academy for the teaching and preservation of indigenous South African music and culture in South Africa.

Secrest Signature
Yomi Durotoye, a native of Nigeria and Coordinator of African Studies minor, will be giving the pre-performance talk at 6:40 in the Balcony Room of Wait Chapel. He holds a joint appointment in the Department of Political Science and the Center for International Studies.

More information
www.mambazo.com