Always With Us | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | January 15, 2014 | |||
Recorded | 2000,10-2012 KZM Music House in Durban, Club Shmed in Missoula and East Hall in Arkansas while touring | |||
Length | 35:00 | |||
Label | Ladysmith Black Mambazo | |||
Producer | Mitch Goldstein Martin Walters Joseph Shabalala Ladysmith Black Mambazo | |||
Ladysmith Black Mambazo chronology | ||||
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Always With Us is a 2014 album by the South African isicathamiya group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The album, released on 15 January 2014, is a tribute to the life of the group's matriarch Nellie Shabalala (1953-2002), the late wife of Mambazo leader Joseph Shabalala. It is also only the second album in the group's 50-year career to feature female Zulu vocalists singing alongside the male members. [1]
Joseph Shabalala was married to Nellie for thirty years. During that time, Nellie became a supportive matriarch of her husband's group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. [2] In 1976, the Shabalalas became Christians and joined the Church of God of Prophecy. Nellie began singing with other female churchgoers and eventually formed her own choir, which she later named Women of Mambazo. [3]
In early 2000, Nellie and Women of Mambazo made their first studio album in a South African recording studio. [2] In October 2001, Women of Mambazo supported Ladysmith Black Mambazo on a 30-date tour of the United Kingdom. In May 2002, before Women of Mambazo could build a name for itself, Nellie was brutally murdered by a masked gunman, and the recordings of Zulu church music that she had made with her group in the studio in 2000 remained unreleased for many years.
The members of Ladysmith Black Mambazo had long desired to create a lasting memorial to Nellie's memory. [4] In 2010, the opportunity finally arose and the group decided to mix together their own voices with the unreleased recordings Nellie made with Women of Mambazo in 2000. [2] Work on the album project began in 2010, but it became technically very difficult to mix Mambazo's newly recorded vocals with Nellie's archive recordings in a seamless manner. As a result, the album took three years to complete. [1] Upon its eventual release in early 2014, Always With Us garnered positive reviews, noting a "bittersweet" and "emotional" nature to the album's ten songs. [4]
Details on the participants on Always With Us are from the album's liner notes. [2]
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
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Ladysmith Black Mambazo are a South African male choral group singing in the local vocal styles of isicathamiya and mbube. They became known internationally after singing with Paul Simon on his 1986 album Graceland, and have won multiple awards, including five Grammy Awards, dedicating their fifth Grammy to the late former President Nelson Mandela.
Isicathamiya is a singing style that originated from the South African Zulus. In European understanding, a cappella is also used to describe this form of singing.
Mshengu White Mambazo is a South African choral group consisting of the sons of Ladysmith Black Mambazo leader Joseph Shabalala, with his eldest son Nkosinathi leading the group. They sing in the traditional style of isicathamiya, like their parents in the above group. Formed in 1976 by Joseph and his late wife Nellie, the group came to local prominence in 1987, when they recorded a full album that October.
Joseph Shabalala, born Bhekizizwe Joseph Siphatimandla Mxoveni Mshengu Bigboy Shabalala, was a South African singer and musician who was the founder and musical director of the choral group Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
Wenyukela is an album by the South African isicathamiya group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The album was expected to have a solemn touch; it was the first album release after the murder of leader Joseph Shabalala's wife Nellie, in May 2002. It was released on 5 March 2003. A British version with four extra tracks was released under the title Raise Your Spirit Higher: Wenyukela. An American version titled Raise Your Spirit Higher was released In January 2004.
Sibongiseni Lucas Shabalala, was a member of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, a South African choral group founded in 1960 by his father Joseph.
Thamsanqa Shabalala is a member of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, a South African choral group founded in 1960 by his father Joseph. He replaced Joseph as the group's lead singer after his father's retirement in 2015.
Thulani Shabalala is a member of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, a South African choral group founded in 1960 by his father Joseph.
Msizi Innocent Shabalala is a member of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, a South African choral group founded in 1960 by his father Joseph Shabalala.
Jabulani Frederick Mwelase Dubazana was a member of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, a South African choral group founded in 1960 - and still led - by close friend Joseph Shabalala.
The Ladysmith Black Mambazo Foundation was set up in January 1999 by Ladysmith Black Mambazo lead singer and founder Joseph Shabalala. The foundation teaches the history of South African music styles isicathamiya and, to a lesser extent, mbube.
Headman Msongelwa Shabalala was a member of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, a South African choral group founded by his brother Joseph.
Phezulu Emafini was the 8th studio release by the South African isicathamiya group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The album, released in 1976, is composed entirely of Zulu Christian religious compositions by composer, director, and lead singer Joseph Shabalala. Phezulu Emafini album 1976 Funokwakhe Mazibuko Fikile Groonwell Khumalo Ben Shabalala Jockey Shabalala Albert Mazibuko Groonwell Khumalo Russell Mthembu Joseph Shabalala Milton Mazibuko Patrick Zondo
Nellie Shabalala was the wife of Ladysmith Black Mambazo (LBM) leader and founder, Joseph Shabalala, for over thirty years. She had formed her own allied group, Women of Mambazo, in the 1970s. The group were beginning to create a name for themselves after touring with LBM in the United Kingdom in 2001, but disbanded after Nellie Shabalala was shot and killed by a masked gunman, initially for unknown reasons, in May 2002.
Ilembe is a 2007 album by the South African isicathamiya group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. It was released on 26 February 2007 and did not feature collaborations, and was simply "Ladysmith Black Mambazo at its best", as the Gallo press release for the anticipated release put it. It was re-released in 2008 with the title Ilembe: Honoring Shaka Zulu.
Umthombo Wamanzi is an album by the South African isicathamiya group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The album was recorded in May 1982, and released the next month. Whilst the group's previous output had been, for the most part, entirely composed by lead singer and founder Joseph Shabalala, Umthombo Wamanzi contained primarily traditional Zulu hymns re-arranged by Shabalala, such as "Uzube Nami Baba" and "Ungikhumbule". The members who sang in the Umthombo Wamanzi album were Abednego Mazibuko Jockey Shabalala Albert Mazibuko Jabulani Dubazana Headman Shabalala Fikile Groonwell Khumalo Russell Mthembu Joseph Shabalala.
Shaka Zulu is a 1987 album by South African a cappella group Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
My Dream – African Sounds is a 2008 release by the South African groups Ladysmith Black Mambazo and the SABC Choir. It was released on 30 September 2008. The album is a collaboration of both isicathamiya and choral music.
Shabalala may refer to:
"Homeless" is a 1986 song by Paul Simon and Ladysmith Black Mambazo lead singer Joseph Shabalala.