BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//www.yoshis.com/oakland//NONSGML kigkonsult.se iCalcreator 2.10.5// X-WR-CALNAME:www.yoshis.com/oakland X-WR-CALDESC:www.yoshis.com/oakland X-WR-TIMEZONE:US/Pacific BEGIN:VEVENT UID:20130525T154339CEST-15072SZFox@www.yoshis.com/oakland DTSTAMP:20130525T130539Z DESCRIPTION:\n\n\n\nFor over forty years\, the voices of Ladysmith Black Ma mbazo have married the intricate rhythms and harmonies of their native Sou th African musical traditions to the sounds and sentiments of Christian go spel music. The result is a musical and spiritual alchemy that has touched a worldwide audience representing every corner of the religious\, cultura l and ethnic landscape. Their musical efforts over the past four decades h ave garnered praise and accolades within the recording industry\, but also solidified their identity as a cultural force to be reckoned with.\nAssem bled in the early 1960s\, in Durban South Africa\, by Joseph Shabalala (st ill currently leading the group) &ndash\; then a young farmboy turned fact ory worker &ndash\;Joseph took the name Ladysmith Black Mambazo &ndash\; L adysmith being the name of Shabalala&rsquo\;s rural hometown\; Black being a reference to oxen\, the strongest of all farm animals\; and Mambazo bei ng the Zulu word for axe\, a symbol of the group&rsquo\;s ability to &ldqu o\;chop down&rdquo\; any singing rival who might challenge them. Their col lective voices were so tight and their harmonies so polished that they wer e eventually banned from competitions &ndash\; although they were welcomed to participate strictly as entertainers.\nThe group's path had a specific direction: &ldquo\;To bring this gospel of loving one another all over th e world\,&rdquo\; Joseph says. However\, he&rsquo\;s quick to point out th at the message is not specific to any one religious orientation. &ldquo\;W ithout hearing the lyrics\, this music gets into the blood\, because it co mes from the blood\,&rdquo\; he says. &ldquo\;It evokes enthusiasm and exc itement\, regardless of what you follow spiritually.&rdquo\;\nA radio broa dcast in 1970 opened the door to their first record contract &ndash\; the beginning of an ambitious discography that currently includes more than fi fty recordings. Their philosophy in the studio was &ndash\; and continues to be &ndash\; just as much about preservation of musical heritage as it i s about entertainment. The group borrows heavily from a traditional music called isicathamiya (is-cot-a-ME-Ya)\, which developed in the mines of Sou th Africa\, where black workers were taken by rail to work far away from t heir homes and their families. Poorly housed and paid worse\, the mine wor kers would entertain themselves after a six-day week by singing songs into the wee hours on Sunday morning. When the miners returned to the homeland s\, this musical tradition returned with them.\nIn the mid-1980s\, Paul Si mon visited South Africa and incorporated Black Mambazo&rsquo\;s rich teno r/alto/bass harmonies into his Graceland album &ndash\; a landmark 1986 re cording that was considered seminal in introducing world music to mainstre am audiences. "\;Graceland"\; one many awards including the Grammy Award for Best Album of the Year. A year later\, Simon produced Black Mam bazo&rsquo\;s first U.S. release\, Shaka Zulu\, which won the Grammy Award \, in 1988\,for Best Traditional Folk Album. Since then\, and in total\, t he group has received fifteen Grammy Award Nominations and three Grammy Aw ard wins\, including one in 2009.\nIn addition to their work with Paul Sim on\, Ladysmith Black Mambazo has recorded with numerous artists from aroun d the world\, including Stevie Wonder\, Josh Groban\,Dolly Parton\, Ben Ha rper and many others. Their 2006 CD\, "\;Long Walk To Freedom"\; h ad guest singers join them\, such as Sarah McLachlan\, Natalie Merchant\, Melissa Etheridge\, Emmylou Harris\, Taj Mahal and others. Their film work includes an appearance in Michael Jackson&rsquo\;s Moonwalker video and S pike Lee&rsquo\;s Do It A Cappella.They provided soundtrack material for D isney&rsquo\;s The Lion King\, Part II as well as Eddie Murphy&rsquo\;s Co ming To America\, Clint Eastwood's Invictus\, Marlon Brando&rsquo\;s A Dry White Season\, Sean Connery&rsquo\;s The League of Extraordinary Gentleme n andJames Earl Jones&rsquo\; Cry The Beloved Country. A film documentary titled On Tip Toe: Gentle Steps to Freedom\, the story of Ladysmith Black Mambazo\, was nominated for an Academy Award. The group is also well known for its Life Savers candy commercials as well as adverts with Heinz Beans . Their performance with Paul Simon on Sesame Street is legendary and is o ne of the top three requested Sesame Street segments in history.\nLadysmit h Black Mambazo has been invited to perform at many special occasions. By special invitation from South African President Nelson Mandela\, they perf ormed for the Queen of England and the Royal Family at the Royal Albert Ha ll in London. The group has also performed at two Nobel Peace Prize Ceremo nies\, a concert for Pope John Paul II in Rome\, the South African Preside ntial inaugurations\, the 1996 Summer Olympics and many other special even ts. In the summer of 2002\, Black Mambazo was again asked to represent the ir nation in London at a celebration for Queen Elizabeth&rsquo\;s 50th Ann iversary as Monarch. They shared the stage with Paul McCartney\, Rod Stewa rt\, Eric Clapton\, Joe Cocker and Phil Collins.\nJust when one think the group should be slowing down they are entering what should be the busiest years of their career since "\;Graceland."\; They have six new re cording projects they are readying for release\, a new concert DVD and a C hildren's project. They have long wished to release a trilogy of CD's tha t sing of their life experiences in South Africa called "\;Our South A frican Life."\; Volume one\, coming out January\, 2011 is "\;Song s From A Zulu Farm."\; This wonderful recording is important to the g roup members because the older members of the group were born and raised o n the farms outside of Ladysmith. It is a collection of original and trad itional songs that sing of life on the farm. This release will coincide w ith a world tour that brings them to the USA in early 2011\, Europe in May -June 2011 and other places to be announced later in the year.\nNo\, time is not slowing down for the group. As Joseph Shabalala says\, "\;We a re teachers. We travel the world spreading our message of Peace\, Love an d Harmony. What could be better or more important than that."\; DTSTART:20130305T200000 DTEND:20130305T220000 DURATION:PT3H LOCATION:Oakland SUMMARY:Ladysmith Black Mambazo END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR