The Blues have got Soul and early this year on 17^th March 2024, at the second edition of NCPA’s Soulful Blues Festival, Oakland blues singer and songwriter Terrie Odabi paid homage to where the blues came from, besides performing some of her own compositions.

In an exclusive interview with Verus Ferreira, Odabi shares her music story, women representation in the blues and lots more.

This is your first visit to India. What have you heard of the country?

We have a very large Indian population of people here in the California Bay Area.The first thing that comes to mind when I think of India are the people, they are extremely beautiful, add to that the fragrances, the incense from India. I love Indian food and understand Mumbai has great culinary restaurants.I am really looking forward to seeing India. That's one thing that I can't capture here just by meeting people from India.

What can audiences expect this evening at the Soulful Blues at the NCPA?

I will be paying homage to where the blues comes from, which began here in this country with spirituals.I do a lot of cover songs by some of the amazing artists that put blues on the map, such as Coco Taylor, B.B. King. I'm also a songwriter so I'll be doing some original material as well.

Who are the other bandmates that you will be performing with and do they tour regularly with you?

I have five people in my band. The first person that I've been working with the longest, probably over 10 years, is my bass player, Kirk Crumpler, who is an award winning musician and has an extensive background in the funk arena. There’s Pierre Parker on drums, Danny Sandoval on saxophone, Sister Monica, an icon here in the US and Simon Russell on keyboards. I am also excited to bring on guitarist Nick Schneblin. All these musicians are band leaders in their own right as well.

What were your growing up days in the US and your foray into music?

My father was in the US Air Force, and so I grew up as a child living in Germany, Turkey. There were no radio stations that had English or television or anything like that. So besides records, which our families would send us from the United States to play music, we took to singing. I have two sisters, a brother and my mom. My mom would have us sit together and we would sing songs together and we would harmonize. I didn't even know what harmony was (Laughs). Later on when we moved back here to the US with my father's family, we used to meet for Thanksgiving, Christmas and birthdays and things like that. Music always seemed to be a big part of the gathering as we sang together and listened to music.

Did you undergo voice training?

I had an auntie who saw that I had probably a little more interest in singing than the rest of the kids. So she invested in me and got me voice lessons. So I studied voice for several years and she paid for it until I was well into my 20s. I studied voice initially with John Patton, who was the vocal teacher. He was an amazing, amazing tenor who had a beautiful voice like Pavarotti. Later on, I met a woman who had a little girl who was maybe two years old and she was a voice teacher. So for several years, I would babysit and in exchange for voice lessons with Miss Gwendolyn Brown. She was very much into the arias and classical music. I would always ask her as to why am I singing this style of music when I'm not going to be an opera singer. But what she instilled in me is that this technique would make me able to sing anything in the future. So I first started off singing jazz in jazz clubs.

So then what made you shift from singing jazz to sing the blues?

Blues was a kind of music that was played in my house when I was growing up, but I didn't identify it as a type of music that I was interested in singing and performing until I got older. I've always loved blues music in my 20s and 30s. And I always incorporated maybe one or two blues songs in my show, but it wasn't until I was like in my late 40s and my 50s that I thought that blues was a type of music that I could mature into without having to feel like I had to to wear skimpy clothes or weigh a hundred pounds and be 20. You know, I saw women in blues who were mature and beautiful and expressive and had decent careers. I wanted it for myself. I kind of chose the blues also because the people, the audience of the blues.

Who are your musical influences and the music artists who really made an impact on you?

It was Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, the Pointer Sisters, Natalie Cole (pauses), that had the biggest influence on me, meaning that I saw them and could see myself doing what they were doing. They were black women and they were bad, bad meaning good.  I wanted to be like that. Later I discovered Big Mama Thornton. My father was a huge fan of Etta James and as I got older, I discovered her in a different way and became a big, big Etta James fan.

Do you think women are given enough representation in the blues?

No, I do not. That's why I would like to stand up and applaud NCPA for having two Black women (Demetria Taylor performed on Saturday night) headline the festival. Believe it or not, as a blues artist, a Black woman, I work more in other countries than I do here in the US. The opportunities to perform the blues here in the US where there are many festivals, I can tell you, I am often not the person who they want to see. I don't get a lot of calls here, even though I would like to perform more here. So, as a woman, and especially as a Black woman, no, I don't think we are represented equally.

So what does the blues mean to you?

I think this is my favorite question of all, because the blues to me, as an African American in the US, is my legacy, my history, my ancestry. It has been taken from me, due to the reasons why African Americans were brought to this country. We were ripped off our culture. So it really, really gives me a sense of pride to know that I am of the ancestry of people who have created this incredible music, not only in the US, but it has spread and appreciated all over the world, bringing on many babies of other genres of music that have come from blues. I would also say that I am a blues activist.

What do the lyrics in your song speak about? 

I write songs about subject matter that's important to me. The evolution of the blues,  what's going on in the city, in this world, there's wars and all that. I write about political issues. I have a song called Love Trumps Hate.  My new CD that I've written has a song called Big City Blues. Our big cities are struggling here in the US. I feel that frustration.  So I wanted to put it in a song. Homelessness is very rampant. So I take all my feelings, my concerns, all that I'm passionate about and write about it in my music. Then sometimes I just feel like people need to be freed and have fun. So I write about things that make people happy. 

You have also been nominated seven times for the Blues Music Award, but never won it. You’ve been nominated again, could 2024 be the year for you?

I have been nominated for a Blues Music Award six times, but my husband says it's seven. I'm extremely honored to be recognized, especially since I have not recorded since 2016. I'm nominated again this year for a Soul Blues Artist. Just the fact being acknowledged by my peers or people in the industry, is an honor. So cross your fingers, maybe I'll win this year.

In 2014, you released your debut album ‘Evolution of the Blues’.

Actually, in 2014, I released ‘Evolution of the Blues’, which Evolution of the Blues is the first blues song that I've ever written. And then in 2016, I released a CD titled ‘My Blue Soul’.Currently I am working on another CD, as you may know, CD don't sell necessarily the way they used to, because technology has changed so much. So I've been really trying to resign myself to spending the money to record music and know that I may not receive it back in CD sales. But that aside, I have found the creative aspect of creating music and very gratifying.And I feel like as an artist, it's, it's something I have to do.  So yes, I am currently working on another compilation of music, another CD. 

Besides music, you also work in a school with disabled students. How do you manage music and your regular job?

So I did work with disabled students with the school district for many years.And I was laid off in 2018. And began working later on with in the school district as a case manager with homeless families who have children who are in the school district.  I did that for a year.And currently, I have just decided to, to leave working with the school district while I was doing it.  It worked out fine, because, you know, for some reason, I was able, they always let me take time off to travel and things like that. But I really, really wanted to be free.I really wanted to have the ability to accept opportunities without having to consider you know, how many days I had available to take off work and you know, what would my boss think if I'm taking off too much. And so I took the leap of faith and I am now no longer working for the school district. And I'm doing music full time so far.

Any new projects you are presently working on?

In 2014, I released Evolution of the Blues, the first blues song that I've ever written. In 2016, I released a CD ‘My Blue Soul’.I'm working on a CD project with Kid Andersen at Greaseland Studios in San Jose, California. I'll be going to Norway, and Spain, and Brazil, and Morocco, and France. So I have a busy, busy summer lined up. I have found the creative aspect of creating music very gratifying.I feel like as an artist, it's something I have to do. 

Are you generous to doing social events?

Every year I do an event, called A Very Merry Soulful Christmas. Christmas is a big year. So it's to raise money for homeless children, homeless students in the school districts and their family. I feel like if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything. And I think as an artist it is necessary to stand for things that are righteous, that are good, that will bring people together. It will serve a purpose such as raise money and things like that. So I'm very proud to have my Very Merry Soulful Christmas.

What according to you makes you stand apart from other blues artists?

I am uniquely me. I don't think that you'll find another voice that sounds like mine. People often ask me, who would I compare my voice to? And I can honestly say, I don't compare it to anybody. I think I have a lot of power in my voice. However, I have a tamer voice that you do not find with a lot of blues artists. I bring my own stories to the blues. So I think that's what makes me unique as an artist.

What memories would you take back with you from India? 

Well, being that I won't be there that long, I hope to meet some incredible people. I love this era that we're in with social media, because when I connect with someone from another country, we can stay connected through Instagram and Facebook. So I'm hoping to make some connections in India with some cool people. I want to take back a lot of pictures and really try to soak in all that I can of India, because I don't know when I'll ever have the opportunity to come back again.

Interviewed By Verus Ferreira

Photo Courtesy: NCPA