Ladysmith Black Mambazo Announces New Album

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 (January 15), 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. The group will tour the U.S. extensively in early 2014; please see below for an itinerary.

The raw material for Always With Us is a collection of songs Nellie recorded with her own singing group from the township church she and her husband founded. Joseph and his fellow singers have spent several years mixing their vocals with Nellie's to create all new songs. The result is a collection of ten hauntingly beautiful recordings in which Nellie is rejoined with her husband and Ladysmith Black Mambazo. It is the first album in their over forty year recording history to feature female Zulu vocalists singing traditional songs.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo recorded Always With Us over several sessions in 2011 and 2012. Once they finished recording their own vocals, the meticulous task of bridging the decade long gap between Nellie's recordings and the new takes, made all the more difficult by the fact that no more than simple edits could be done to the originals, took several years. Because honoring the memory of Nellie was critical, Black Mambazo would not allow the album's release until they felt the quality was such that it stood as a worthy tribute to the group's matriarch. Joseph Shabalala says, "It was important for us to not just record these songs, but to create beautiful music. From the first day we worked with Nellie's recordings to the final day when we new we were finished, our primary objective was to make a collection of beautiful songs. I know we have done this and we are proud to present this CD for the world to listen to."

Albert Mazibuko, Ladysmith Black Mambazo member since 1969, says "Nellie was not just Joseph's wife. She was a mother, sister-in-law or cousin to every member of the group. She helped us at home in so many ways while we were traveling the world. In Zulu, we have a phrase, 'Uyohlale Unathi,' which means 'someone who is no longer with us in body but stays with us in spirit.' Singing with Nellie on these songs gave us peace and allows us to honor her life."

Ladysmith Black Mambazo Tour Dates

January 24
Germantown, TN
Germantown PAC

January 25
Athens, GA
Georgia Theatre

January 26
Richmond, VA
Carpenter Center

January 27
Vienna, VA
Barns of Wolftrap

January 29
Pittsburgh, PA
Byham Theater

January 30
Ithaca, NY
State Theater

January 31
Philadelphia, PA
Zellerbach

February 1
Storrs, CT
UCONN

February 2
Cambridge, MA
Sanders Theatre

February 4
Columbus, OH
Southern Theatre

February 5
Vienna, VA
Barns of Wolftrap

February 8
River Forest, IL
Dominican University

February 9
Minneapolis, MN
Ordway Center

February 11
Winona, MN
St. Mary's University

February 13
Lamoni, IA
Graceland University

February 15
Edwardsville, IL
Wildey Theatre

February 16
Emporia, KS
Emporia State University

February 17
Marion, IL
Marion Civic Center

February 18
Iowa City, IA
Englert Theatre

February 19
Charleston, IL
Eastern Illinois University

February 21
Clinton Township, IL
Macomb PAC

February 23
New Brunswick, NJ
State Theatre

February 28
Santa Clarita, CA
Santa Clarita PAC

March 1
Pasadena, CA
Beckman Auditorium

March 2
Berkeley, CA
UC Berkely

March 4
Santa Rose, CA
Wells Fargo Center

March 5
Sacramento, CA
Crest Theatre

March 6
Merced, CA
Merced Theatre

March 8
Ogden, UT
Egyptian Theater

March 9
Boulder, CO
Boulder Theatre

March 11
Aspen, CO
Wheeler Opera House

March 12
Ft. Collins, CO
Lincoln Center

March 14
Indianapolis, IN
Butler University

March 15
Akron, OH
Thomas Hall

March 17
Fort Smith, AR
Second Street Live

March 18
Fort Worth, TX
Bass Hall

March 19
New Orleans, LA
Tipitinas

March 21
Niceville, FL
Mattie Kelly Arts Center

March 22
Jacksonville, FL
Florida Theatre

March 23
Sarasota, FL
Van Wezel Hall

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