Ladysmith Black Mambazo brought three generations of history to Liberty Hall on Thursday night

Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Liberty Hall, Lawrence
Thursday, March 13, 2014

Part history lesson disguised as entertainment and part life-affirming chill session, Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s Liberty Hall recital commanded a captivated audience. Normally, when a band or performer proclaims they want to bring about world peace through music, eyes begin to roll. However, with a 50-year track record that includes singing at Nelson Mandela’s presidential inauguration as well as his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance ceremony and joining Paul Simon in creating the 1986 Grammy Award-winning album Graceland – effectively breaking through a South African cultural embargo and helping introduce world music to the United States – it becomes very possible to take such a claim seriously.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s performance was replete with calming melodies, pantomime antics and audience participation. Between songs, various members of the all-male, 10-person choir would preface the next piece with introductions to other members of the group or a dedication. From these segues, the audience learned that group founder Joseph Shabalala could not be present due to his recovery from surgery; four of Joseph’s sons and one grandson are members of the group; and in 2002, Joseph’s wife and group matriarch, Nellie Shabalala, passed away.

Nellie Shabalala’s death may have been 12 years ago, but Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s current tour is in support of their most recent recording Always With Us, an album dedicated to her that combines past recordings of her singing with a contemporary overlay of the group accompanying her. As to be expected, multiple songs from the album were performed as well as many older pieces, some dating back to the mid-60s.

In Joseph’s absence, his sons took over leading the group, exchanging the frontman position with their brothers to accommodate individual song needs. The rest of the choir stood in a single line, each man with his own boom-mic setup and all in matching dress, behind the soloist at center stage. In a call-and-response fashion, the lead singer would begin each song and the choir body would follow, eventually creating a melodic bed for the soloist to perform on top of. The group lead would also instigate choreography, often steering the group into what can only be described as jazz-esque solo sections where each performer was given “x” amount of time to dance freestyle.

What is interesting about Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s performance is that although it was apparent that all songs and accompanying choreography were prescripted, the group’s formula allowed for moments of personal flourish and improvisation. This characteristic elevates the choral members into living, one-of-a-kind instruments, each with its own unique voice and timbre. While a greater and almost hypnotic harmony is maintained, these brief moments of self-expression poke through, bringing character and personality to sections that may otherwise drone on and away.

In a larger scope, the group seems to operate on a work-share program. The performer who gave an introduction one night may not give it the next, nor will the few men selected to stay and give autographs necessarily remain the same from show to show. Such may be the benefits of performing in a larger group. It may also reflect the more communal mindset of a group whose origins are found in a small township.

While Ladysmith Black Mambazo may represent peace and harmony through its light-hearted music and the members’ often humorous between-song banter, it also represents the past 50 years of South African culture. Ladysmith’s members have seen the hardships of apartheid and its eventual abolishment. The songs about peace and love aren’t simply tokens, but also very real pieces of South Africa’s recent history. While the present-day U.S. tours may very well be performed to predominately older white audiences, it is these very audiences that were there to support Ladysmith Black Mambazo when it was first introduced to the U.S. by Paul Simon in the ’80s, and it is these audiences that allow Ladysmith Black Mambazo to continue its journey as cultural ambassadors of South Africa. Such a relationship gives further credence to the self-proclaimed testimony that Ladysmith Black Mambazo is spreading peace and goodwill.

Set list:

Unkelunkulu
Ofana Naye
Nomathemba
Vimba
Usasheba
Yinhle
–
No More Sorrow
Long Walk to Freedom
Homeless
Phansi Em Godini