Fri. Jan. 18 

Ladysmith Black Mambazo is arguably the best-known world music band in – well - the world. The all-male choral group, started by Joseph Shabalala and his cousin Albert Mazibuko, took shape in South Africa in the late 1960s. The genesis of the name is this: Ladysmith, was his hometown. Black was a reference to the ox, the strongest of farm animals. And Mambazo is the Zulu word for axe. Put together, it means a strong, mighty musical group, proud of their hometown..
   Over the course of 50-plus albums, Ladysmith Black Mambazo – it has ten members, many others have been members over its history - has woven the polyrhythms and harmonies of their native land together with Christian gospel music. (In 1975, Shabalala converted to Christianity.) There are seven bass voices, an alto, a tenor, with Shabalala singing lead. It wasn’t until the 1986 that LBM came to international prominence, after Paul Simon enlisted them to perform on his “Graceland” album. It was a big door opener. And once that door opened, audiences rushed in to embrace the unique vocal sound and uplifting spirituality of the music. Simon produced three albums for the band, records aimed at the US market. Aside from finding bigger audiences, LBM found itself in demand, singing with the Winans, George Clinton, Stevie Wonder, the Corrs, Julia Fordham, Dolly Parton, Zap Mama and Ben Harper. They’ve been nominated for 12 Grammys and won two. They’ve provided music for film scores, including Disney’s “The Lion King, Part II” and Eddie Murphy’s “Coming to America.” They were featured in Michael Jackson’s “Moonwalker” video and in Spike Lee’s “Do It A Cappella.” Ladysmith Black Mambazo plays Sanders Theatre, Friday, January 18 at 8pm.
Shabalala, on the phone from London, explains how he views their success:  “It was like playing when you were a child, I dreamed I had wings, I had never thought it was going to happen, nobody can have wings to fly. But the dream, it happened. I always respect Paul Simon, he is the one. It was his dream, too, and I agreed to work to with him. The day when he came, I was waiting for him.”    Ladysmith Black Mambazo, one of World Music’s most frequent and successful bookings, returns to town, at Harvard’s Sanders Theatre January 18. They’ll be promoting an album that will have come out three days prior, “Hembe: Honoring Shaka Zulu.” The famous Zulu king united South African tribes and ruled 250,000 people in the latter part of the 18th and early part of the 19th centuries. He was previously hailed by LBM, on “Shaka Zulu,” the title of a 1987 album, their first US release. Produced by Simon, it won the group a Grammy.

   “My father was telling me about Shaka Zulu before I went to school,” says Shabalala. “My father said ‘I want you know to learn and learn to praise this king.’ We heard he was a very strong man, he had a vision, he was an athlete. When he run, his went with a big wind. I learned he’s a hero of the heroes … Nowadays, we see the nation behind him, young kings behind him, and they get strength from his history. My nation and fatherland love Shaka. He was a man trying to walk around tell people through music come together. Like Mandela today. I want to talk about Shaka, to share telling the story for the audience for today.”
   Ladysmith Black Mambazo sings in English occasionally, but the vast majority of songs on the new CD are sung in Zulu. What are they about? The press material accompanying the new record explains they deal with how Shaka’s attributes relate to today’s world, about how people must come together for the common good, how they must rise above minor squabbles and guard against jealousy.
     Musically, there are waves of what you might call intense calm. Shabalala clearly believes there is power in repetition. “You call it repetition, and I say ‘emphasize,’” says Shabalala. “The thing that makes me enjoy (music) is, when we write down the composition, you can find the strong words it'’ words not easy to pass and you come back to that and I emphasize.” Tickets: $40-$28. (A longer version of this piece should be up soon on www.newengland.com .)

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