POP : Mambazo Graces World With a Spiritual Presence

The international spotlight first settled on Ladysmith Black Mambazo in 1986, when the South African singing group appeared on Paul Simon’s hit “Graceland” and toured with him in support of the album.

It could have ended there--a brief flicker of world fame--but Mambazo’s attraction has proven to be more than mere novelty. They’ve made the most of the entree Simon offered to a global audience by building an impressive body of work that rises from the otherworldly beauty of their a cappella harmonies.

Examples of their wide-ranging accomplishments abounded in 1994. The group’s 10 singer-dancers--who perform Friday in Irvine--released their first children’s album, “Gift of the Tortoise,” a blend of storytelling and music. Another ’94 album, “Liph’ Iqiniso,” is nominated for a Grammy for best traditional folk recording (the group has won once already). There was a lengthy world tour.

Plans were announced for a second residency in Chicago with the Steppenwolf Theater Co., where Mambazo founder and leader Joseph Shabalala will collaborate with Eric Simonson and Ntozake Shange in writing “Nomathemba,” a play based on a song by Shabalala. In 1992, the score the group composed for a Steppenwolf production, “The Song of Jacob Zulu,” won a Drama Desk Award and was nominated for a Tony.

At home, Mambazo was involved in events that perhaps struck closest to heart. The Zulu group sang at Nelson Mandela’s inauguration in May, 1994, after having accompanied Mandela and F.W. de Klerk to Norway the previous year for the presentation of the Nobel Peace Prize.

And finally in 1994, Shabalala announced the formation of an academy for the teaching and preservation of traditional South African culture, part of his ongoing efforts to keep the nation’s roots alive in a post-apartheid world.

The spirituality and sense of community that Mambazo expresses in all its myriad activities is perhaps manifested most effectively in live performances. Friday’s appearance at the Irvine Barclay Theatre will showcase a group that combines high-stepping showmanship with a distinctive and haunting choral style--seven of the 10 sing bass. Songs are wrought from the stuff of everyday life and from Zulu folklore, giving Mambazo a firm, earthbound footing that helps it transcend politics even while giving it a human voice.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo draws its inspiration from a choral music called “Isicathamiya,” born in the mines of South Africa. Housed in work camps far from their homes and families, the miners would entertain themselves after a six-day work week by singing early on Sunday mornings. They called themselves “Cothoza Mfana,” or “tiptoe guys,” after the delicate dance steps they performed to keep from disturbing the camp guards. Back home among family, the groups would gather for social “contests.”

Shabalala, who had sung with a number of groups through the ‘50s, says he had a dream in 1964 in which he heard a certain harmony he went on to capture with Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Ladysmith is the town where he was born, “Black” refers to the black oxen on the Shabalala home farm, and “Mambazo” is Zulu for ax, symbolic of an ability to “chop down” the competition.

* Who: Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

* When: Friday, Feb. 10, at 8 p.m.

* Where: Irvine Barclay Theatre, 4242 Campus Drive, Irvine.

* Whereabouts: Take the San Diego (405) Freeway to the Jamboree Road exit and head south. Turn left onto Campus Drive. The theater is on Campus near Bridge Road, across from the Marketplace mall.

* Wherewithal: $24 to $28.

* Where to call: (714) 854-4646.

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