"If only one could be sure that every 50 years a voice and a soul like Odetta's would come along, the centuries would pass so quickly and painlessly we would hardly recognize the time," Maya Angelou said in 1999.
We've seen her name and the face posted around campus for weeks now. In-boxes have been inundated with blitzes and bulletins from organizations and individuals from every walk of Dartmouth life promoting this event, yet for the most part Odetta is still a bit of a mystery. We know she's coming and plenty of people certainly seem to be excited about her -- but why? Who is this one-named wonder woman beaming her bright smile and kind eyes at us from the walls of Collis? And why should you take your Tuesday night off of cramming for ninth-week midterms and final papers to go and see her perform?
Having just listened to one of her most recent recordings, I can guarantee you that if for no other reason, you should go for the obvious -- to hear her sing. The Tucker Foundation and the Center for Women and Gender, in addition to a whole slew of financially supportive student organizations from the Programming Board to Chi Heorot fraternity, are offering the Dartmouth campus a fantastic musical treat in presenting Odetta, free of charge. I can think of few better ways to round out a sun-drenched Tuesday afternoon than by sitting down to the sounds of a soulful guitar twanging its way through Spaulding Auditorium in eager anticipation of Odetta's powerful voice rising up to meet it in song.
Odetta's folksy blues style blends rich instrumental accompaniment with a full-bodied vocal style at times reminiscent of the rasp of Nina Simone and at others of the deep resonance of Cassandra Wilson. At the end of the day she leaves her own mark, a musical fingerprint which is uniquely Odetta.
As a musical genre, the blues has a potential unlike any other type of music: it calls to mind the bittersweet trials and tribulations we encounter in life while calling to heart the profound simple joys experienced along the way. Odetta's combination of musical prowess and socially conscious subject matter is a powerful and priceless mix.
After a mere 30 minutes of listening to her album "Blues Everywhere I Go," I was struck by my change in mood. Listening to her endowed my Monday with a toe-tapping appreciation of life that I only wish could be part of the start of every Dartmouth week.
Though performed in Spaulding Auditorium, the concert is part of a series of Tucker Center-arranged concerts with social awareness in mind as their primary goal. Earlier this year, over 100 Dartmouth students and Upper Valley community members showed up for a talk by muralist and activist Judith Baca and a performance by the socially conscious hip-hop group Michael Franti and Spearhead. The Tucker Center hopes tonight's performance, "Where Do We Stand Now?: 50 Years of Activism," will be yet another impressive celebration of spoken word, music and social commentary.
Odetta's message of hope, love and social change has affected many notable artists including Maya Angelou, Bob Dylan, Tracy Chapman, Pete Seeger and Harry Bela-fonte. Despite this impressive roll call of fans, she said she considers herself very lucky to be able to perform here. College students continue to be some of her favorite audiences. "TV babies and rock concert devotees," she calls us, claiming that our "listening muscles" need more development.
"If they are not responsive, I tease them and ask if they have ever been with a non-responsive lover. I'm up here making love to you, and it's no fun if you don't respond."
The evening's events begin at 8 p.m. tonight with a short introductory performance by music professor Hafiz Shabazz, Tucker dean Stuart Lord, Native American studies professor Vera Palmer, Stacy Harper '03, Sheila Hicks '04, Shermaine Jones '04, Declan Lynch '03, Lois Schonberger '03, Pradine Saint-Fort '04 and Callie Thompson '05. Free tickets are available at the Hopkins Center Box Office.