Ladysmith Black Mambazo @ Blue Note, New York, NY 7/22/25

 


Bill: Ladysmith Black Mambazo

Venue: Blue Note, New York, NY

Date: 7/22/25

Door: $65 (won pair from DoNYC)

10:30pm Ladysmith Black Mambazo



Active: 1960 (Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa) (

Latest Release: Soothe My Soul (Songs From Our South African Church) (Mambazo, 2023)

Bandcamp Facebook Instagram Discogs Setlist AllMusic Wiki YouTube

It's a little difficult for me to keep the lineup straight of Ladysmith Black Mambazo since the retirement in 2008 and passing in 2020 of clear leader Joseph Shabala.  I haven't seen the group since 1990 when Nelson Mandela did a US visit and spoke on the Boston Common.  There was a free concert outside prior to the speech which I believe Ladysmith Black Mambazo were part of.  I also saw the Graceland tour where they backed Paul Simon on the Graceland tour in 1987.  

It looks like there are two members remaining from that time: Albert Mazibuko who is the longest running member from the 70's and Abednego Mazibuko, a cousin who joined in the mid-70's.  In 1993 Shabalala's 4 sons joined: Thulani, Sibongiseni, Thamsanqa and Msizi Shabalala.  The remaining members of the ensemble consist today of Pius Shezi, Sabelo Mthembu and Mfanafuthi Dlamini.  If I missed somebody or somebody left and came in, I apologize.  The whole point of Ladysmith Black Mambazo is blended group vocals, so who is in it is less important than the total presentation.  This is a concept and group that has been going since 1960, even if it appears nobody from that year is in the group.

Anyway, I won a pair of tickets for the 10:30 set at Blue Note and with prior plans to see Ghost at Madison Square Garden, I figured that would be a perfect jump on the A/C/E to W 4 from the Garden.  Of course, we got in the center lane and accidentally went uptown a stop on the E so my closely timed plan got a 10 minute delay that probably cost us from seeing the complete show.  Still, we got to Blue Note in time to see most of Ladysmith Black Mambazo including the breakout hit "Homeless" and their Mandala tribute, so I'm glad we did it.

FOR FURTHER REVIEW:

Shaka Zulu (1987)

Paul Simon-Interview Show With Music From His Album Graceland (1986)













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