Hodge anchors the cinematic interlude “ Transitions” with acoustic bass while ethereal electric guitar and bass lines shimmer inside a delicate electronica soundscape.
The tune’s textures and interactive intricacies continue to coalesce, illuminating Hodge’s musical dexterity. Soon after, Hodge’s fuzzed-out electric bass enters with one of his now-patented hymn-like melodies. The Second opens with the title track on which Hodge initiates a plaintive piano melody before Colenburg joins in with sharp, hip-hop-informed drumming. While that album was composed by Hodge with a band sound in mind that included special guests, here he opted for a very different approach, forgoing a conventional accompanying band and instead playing all of the instruments himself with only a few exceptions – drums from Mark Colenburg on three tracks and horns performed by trumpeter Keyon Harrold, trombonist Corey King, and tenor saxophonist Marcus Strickland on one track. Now Hodge returns with a sensational follow-up, The Second, a sincere album that derives its emotional force from the enormous love he received from fans after releasing Live Today and touring the music around the world. JazzTimes called the album “a focused, cohesive and artistically ambitious record,” noting that it’s “identity, and lasting beauty, is found in his arrangements,” and praising how naturally Hodge’s sound wove together jazz and hip hop: “the hypnotic morphing of textures and timbres within these liquid arrangements herald new chemistry and creative fuel.” Hodge has made a cinematic word of his own,” declared The New York Times in their glowing review of Live Today. After years as an essential band member in groups led by artists including trumpeter Terence Blanchard, keyboardist Robert Glasper, rapper Common, and R&B singers Jill Scott and Maxwell, the bassist and composer Derrick Hodge stepped out on his own in 2013 with the release of Live Today, his debut album which introduced a strikingly original voice of his own.