Brooklyn Center Presents Ladysmith Black Mambazo 3/19

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College concludes its 2010-2011 World Stages series with an evening of music by South Africa's Grammy Award-winning Ladysmith Black Mambazo on Saturday, March 19, 2011 at 8pm.

Almost 25 years after they acquired international superstar status with Paul Simon's Graceland album, Ladysmith Black Mambazo continues to tour the world as South Africa's cultural emissary. With a career including more than 50 recordings and three Grammy Awards, including 2009's Best Traditional World Music Album for Ilembe: Honoring Shaka Zulu, the group continues to thrill audiences with its rich a cappella arrangements and joyously energetic performances.

The group combines the intricate rhythms and harmonies of their native homeland's musical traditions with the sounds of Christian gospel music. Ladysmith Black Mambazo's signature unaccompanied vocals borrow heavily from isicathamiya, translated as "on tiptoes" or "stalking." This traditional musical style was developed by black miners who sang in hushed harmonies so as not to disturb the guards posted outside their dormitories.

Founded by Joseph Shabalala, Ladysmith Black Mambazo's first album, Shaka Zulu, won the 1988 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Recording. The group received two 2007 Grammy Award nominations, Best Contemporary World Music Album and Best Surround Sound Album, for their 2006 album Long Walk to Freedom. The album, featuring Melissa Etheridge, Sarah McLachlan, Joe McBride, Emmylou Harris, Taj Mahal and Zap Mama, is a celebration of their long history and twelve years of democracy in the Republic of South Africa.

Their most recent release, Songs From A Zulu Farm (February 2011), is the group's most personal work to date. "These are songs from the earliest time in our lives," says Shabalala. "These are stories our fathers and mothers and other relatives shared with us, songs our grandparents sang. We have changed them somewhat and/or added extra harmonies and lyrics, but overall these songs represent an important memory of our early life. When we sing these songs, we're singing songs from our history."

Since the group acquired superstar status in the West twenty years ago, courtesy of Paul Simon's Graceland album, Ladysmith Black Mambazo has recorded and performed with numerous singers, from Dolly Parton to Natalie Merchant to Stevie Wonder. In addition to working with Paul Simon, they provided soundtrack material for Disney's The Lion King, Part II, Eddie Murphy's Coming To America, and Sean Connery's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Their film credits include featured appearances in Michael Jackson's Moonwalker video and Spike Lee's Do It A Cappella. The group has been invited to perform at many special occasions, including Nobel Peace Prize ceremonies, South African Presidential inaugurations, the 1996 Summer Olympics, and Queen Elizabeth's 50th Anniversary as Monarch.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo at Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts
Walt Whitman Theatre at Brooklyn College
2900 Campus Road, Brooklyn
(2 train to Brooklyn College/Flatbush Avenue)
Saturday, March 19, 2011 at 8pm
Tickets: $37 ($40 at door)

Online orders: BrooklynCenterOnline.org
Box Office: (718) 951-4500, Tuesday - Saturday, 1pm - 6pm
Groups of 15 or more: (718) 951-4600, ext. 22
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Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts' 2010-2011 World Stages Series is sponsored by Macy's Foundation.

About Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts
Founded in 1954, the mission of Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts is to present outstanding performing arts and arts education programs, reflective of Brooklyn's diverse communities, at affordable prices. Brooklyn Center's presentations explore both the classical traditions and the boldest contemporary performances, embracing the world culture that defines Brooklyn. Brooklyn Center welcomes over 70,000 people to the 2,400 seat Walt Whitman Theatre each season, and boasts one of the largest arts education programs in the borough, serving 46,000 schoolchildren from over 300 schools annually with its SchoolTime series.

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts' programs are made possible in part with public funding from the City of New York Department of Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts. Funding for the 2010-2011 season is provided by: Target; JP Morgan Chase; Brooklyn Community Foundation; Mertz Gilmore Foundation; National Grid; TD Bank; Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation; New England Foundation for the Arts; Pennsylvania Performing Arts on Tour; King's Plaza Shopping Center; The Harkness Foundation for Dance; Health Plus; and the Lila Acheson Wallace Theater Fund, established in the New York Community Trust by founders of The Reader's Digest Association. Additional support provided by CNG Publications, The Brooklyn Eagle, and WBGO Jazz 88. The Sheraton Brooklyn New York Hotel is the official hotel of Brooklyn Center's 2010-2011 season. Backstage catering is graciously provided by Applebee's.

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts gratefully acknowledges generous support from the Members of the Brooklyn Delegation to the New York State Assembly and Speaker Sheldon Silver; Members of the Brooklyn Delegation to the New York State Senate and Majority Conference Leader John L. Sampson; Members of the Brooklyn Delegation to the New York City Council and Speaker Christine C. Quinn; and Commissioner of Cultural Affairs Kate Levin.

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