RIDGEFIELD — From the time he was nine until his late teens, having enjoyed singing while working as a farmhand and laborer in South Africa, Mdletshe Albert Mazibuko also performed with his own band.

But like many musical start-ups, once he heard what was going on with his cousin, Joseph Shambalala, Albert pulled the plug on his own aspirations and hitched his dreams to the future of an acapella band called Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

“I wanted to be in Joseph’s group because they sang so well,” he said, his voice rising with excitement as he chatted with The Newtown Bee ahead of an upcoming August 17 appearance at The Ridgefield Playhouse.

“So naturally, I quit my own group,” he said. “And when the others asked why I was leaving, all I could tell them was, ‘Joseph Shambalala is the best, and I want to join him.’ So even though I was singing with others up until then, I was always looking for the chance to join up with Joseph.”

Assembled in the early 1960s in South Africa by Joseph — also coincidentally a young farmboy-turned-factory worker — the group took the name Ladysmith Black Mambazo: Ladysmith, the name of Joseph’s hometown; Black being a reference to the oxen, the strongest of all farm animals; and Mambazo being the Zulu word for chopping axe, a symbol of the group’s ability to “chop down” any singing rival who might challenge them.

According to the group’s official bio, their collective voices were so tight and their harmonies so polished that by the end of the 1960s, they were banned from the isicathamiya competitions that had made them famous locally. Isicathamiya is a kind of musical style that uses only voices with no instruments, featuring close harmonies and many voices blending different notes at once and including hand movements and tight choreography.

A Lifelong Journey

“In 1969, Joseph came to me and said ‘You and your brother will help me achieve the mission of Ladysmith Black Mambazo,’” Albert recalled, “and from that moment, I said this is something I want to do for the rest of my life.”

At that point, Albert was performing part-time whenever the opportunity presented. And in 1973, an opening in the ensemble turned into the full-time career that keeps Albert thriving today.

The group catapulted into American conscience when they collaborated with Paul Simon on his 1986 album Graceland. LBM hasn’t left this country’s conscience, enjoying more recent collaborations with Josh Groban, David Guetta, and Sarah McLachlan. Another high point in the group’s history came upon Nelson Mandela’s release from prison.

In 1993, the celebrated leader brought the group along to perform when he received the Nobel Peace Prize, designating them “South Africa’s Cultural Ambassadors to the World.” Up to and since then, Ladysmith Black Mambazo has garnered 19 Grammy noms and 5 Grammy wins, with their most recent album Shaka Zulu Revisited winning for Best World Music Album in 2018.

While much of the group’s original songs and eventual recordings were rooted in traditional South African songs that had been sung for generations before, Ladysmith Black Mambazo also benefited from the rapport that comes from family members singing together.

From the beginning and on to today, the group included Joseph and his brothers, cousins with the “mission” that took root in 1960 continuing today under the leadership of his sons, Thulani, Thamsanq, Sibongisen, and Msizi Shabalala. Albert also came to the group with his brother Funokwakhe Mazibuko, along with his late brother and another Shambalala cousin, Milton.

One Big Family

Today, Albert still shares the stage with another well-voiced brother, Abednego. The group hitting the Playhouse stage on August 17 is rounded out with Pius Shezi, Sabelo Mthembu, and Mfanafuthi Dlamini. As the oldest surviving member of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Albert, now 74, has attained the position of respected elder.

“When Joseph handed over leadership to his sons before his retirement, as one of the older people in the group, I was looked at as one who would look after them and give them some guidance,” he said. “Now, when we are cooperating around the music and songwriting, they make it so easy, and they have so much energy. These boys are very talented and I think they inherited that from their father. My job is just to advise them.”

Albert said the only advice he was given upon Joseph’s retirement, was to be sure Ladysmith Black Mambazo remained loyal to their trademark harmonies and spirit.

“He said that whatever song you write, it has to have the message of encouragement — not a message that you are complaining or saying something that could offend anyone,” Albert recalled. “He said when people are listening to your songs, I want them to hear something that is encouraging them, and that will empower them. So that is my job.

“Sometimes when I hear something I believe Joseph would feel is not appropriate, I remind them their father’s mission was to empower everyone who hears this music to live in peace, love, and harmony.”

For more information or to purchase a touchless print at home ticket ($55) go to ridgefieldplayhouse.org or call 203-438-5795. The Playhouse is a nonprofit performing arts center at 80 East Ridge, parallel to Main Street.

Check out this 2018 video of Ladysmith Black Mambazo from Paste Studios in New York:

Paul Simon and Ladysmith Black Mambazo perform "Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes":