Ladysmith Black Mambazo brings proud vocal tradition to Napa show

Following the release of their first studio album in five years, the South African a capella group, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, appears at the Napa Valley Opera house on Wednesday, Jan. 25.

The album, “Walking in the Footsteps of Our Fathers,” is a tribute to the original members of the band and includes songs from their early days.

“Footsteps” received a Grammy nomination for Best World Music Album, Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s 17th nomination - it has won four. The awards show is next month.

Today the group travels the globe to perform for their legions of adoring fans, but during South Africa’s apartheid era, they often had trouble touring within their home country.

“Every time we traveled (until the 1980s) we were stopped by police,” Albert Mazibuko, an early member of the group, told me in 2012. “We tried to explain what we were doing, but they couldn’t understand. So we just started to sing for them. It worked all the time.”

Mambazo’s music, a hybrid of Zulu harmonies and gospel stylings, came to the group’s founder, Joseph Shabalala, in a series of dreams in 1964.

“In the dreams he heard the blending of voices and saw how to put the singing together with the dancing,” Mazibuko, 68, said. The musical style is called Isicathamiya, a Zulu word meaning a harmonious blend of voices.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo got its big break in the mid-1980s, backing Paul Simon on “Graceland,” which gave the band a broad international following.

Where does the group’s name come from? Ladysmith is Shabalala’s hometown, Black is a reference to an ox known for its strength, and Mambazo is the Zulu word for axe.

I spoke to Mazibuko, who has toured with the group since 1969, this month via email from South Africa.

Q. What new territory are you covering on the latest album?

A. On our new CD, “Walking in the Footsteps of Our Fathers,” we are staying true to our traditional singing, to return to who we are. We are singing new versions of some older classic Mambazo songs as well as new songs. We think people who like our traditional singing will really like the CD.

Q. What does it mean to carry on the music and traditions of your forefathers?

A. We want to honor the founders of Ladysmith Black Mambazo as well as other important South Africans who helped pave the way for the younger generations of today.

For the younger members of the group, they see that what Joseph Shabalala started, over fifty years ago, is not something that needs to end.

The younger members of the group, who actually are in their 40s and 50s now, realize the importance of those who came before them. These footsteps, left by the elders, are here, and we follow in them.

We now live in a time when all of our people are walking in footsteps of those who paved the way.

Be it Nelson Mandela or the mamas in the township, the younger people owe the elders great respect and thanks for the path they began.

Q. Joseph Shabalala is no longer touring with the band, correct?

A. Yes, Joseph retired in 2013. However, Joseph is still our leader and founder.

He joins us in the studio - if he isn’t singing, he is writing or directing us. His four sons, who have been in the group since 1993, are co-leaders of the group as well as lead singers.

Q. You sing only a few songs in English, but your music reaches audiences even if they don’t speak Zulu. How does that happen?

A. We like singing some songs in English, but it’s important to sing most in our native language, isiZulu or just Zulu.

It’s who we are, and indeed, people do enjoy hearing our language being sung. Even though people do not understand our language, they like the sound we make with our voices.

Perhaps it’s like jazz where there are no words but the sound of the music creates an emotion.

Q. Do you feel music can help heal people divided by different political and social views?

A. Music is certainly a healing force. It was one of the most important ingredients to what not only helped free South Africa, but what brought it back together.

When there is tragedy, people turn to musicians and music to bring people together.

This is something Ladysmith Black Mambazo has done for all our history. We want to bring people together because we all want the same thing. … We know tragedy, we know deep heartache, but it’s important for people to raise themselves up to make the world better.

Q. Some critics felt Paul Simon exploited Ladysmith Black Mambazo by not giving you artist credit on “Graceland.” How did you feel?

A. Paul Simon was a great friend to us. He opened the gates for us: “Graceland” launched our 30-year international career. He produced our first worldwide album, “Shaka Zulu,” and it won the Grammy award. That never would have happened if not for Paul Simon.

So, perhaps, the question is: Did we exploit Paul Simon?

Q. What is the root of Isicathamiya music?

A. Well, the music began when men left their homes and families to work in the mines.

They had to live for months and months in hostels. They did not go home each day or each week or even each month. They came from many parts of South Africa and lived together. To entertain themselves they all shared their various styles of singing and dancing.

That’s why the music groups who perform this style are all men. It’s not anti-women. It’s that the men were the ones doing this back in the 1940s and 50s.

Michael Shapiro is the author of “A Sense of Place: Great Travel Writers Talk About Their Craft, Lives, and Inspiration.” Contact: michaelshapiro.net.