- By Casey Martin
- Entertainment
In a career that spans over 50 years, South Africa’s Ladysmith Black Mambazo has garnered multiple GRAMMY® awards, nominations and critical acclaim, and continues to sell out concerts in prestigious venues worldwide. Reviewing a recent performance at Carnegie Hall, Jon Pareles of The New York Times noted a distinctly Zulu quality of the group’s songs when he described them as 'music that had survived sorrows to find benedictions in the aftermath.'
The group’s forthcoming album, Always With Us (released January 15th), exemplifies this spiritual dimension, paying tribute to Nellie Shabalala, the late wife of Black Mambazo founder-leader Joseph Shabalala, by making a fully-produced cycle of songs featuring their own voices alongside vocals she recorded before her death in 2002.
In addition to Always With Us being released later this month, Ladysmith Black Mambazo was recently nominated for their 14th Grammy® award for Best World Music CD for their 2013 release Singing for Peace Around the World (Live). The recording is dedicated to Nelson Mandela all proceeds from this cd will go to his charity, The Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund.
The a cappella group with be honoring the late Nelson Mandela with a tribute during their January 30th performance at The State Theatre. The Ithaca College Women’s Choral will kick off the show starting at 7:30pm sharp.
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