Lynda Hodges
Upper Marlboro, Maryland, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2010 | SELF
Music
Press
While this may be her debut CD, Maryland-based singer Lynda Hodges belts out notes with the assurance of one who has been singing her entire life. Indeed, she has been lifting her voice in song since she was a child, performing in numerous groups over several decades, honing her craft and finding her way not only in music, but in ministry. Surrounded by the love of a church family as well as her own, the age-old practice of training up a child has instilled a rock-solid faith in Christ. It is this faith that is on full display in her album, Free, along with her spiritually-centered gifts as a songwriter and vocal arranger.
“Free” unquestionably sets the tone speaking on the priceless gift of Jesus sacrificing Himself to cover the sins of all humanity. Musical arranger and multi-instrumentalist Hiram Swain crafts a light yet contemporary R&B setting for the lyrics and vocals to reside. Swain continually plays to Hodges’s strengths as a vocalist, as noted by the jazz-infused wedding song that is “Bless Our Love.” Skip Pruitt’s saxophone practically slow dances with Lynda’s lower registers throughout the tune. On “I’m Not Ashamed,” a 12-bar blues pattern is transformed by a testimony that Hodges can’t hold back.
It is worth noting that church standards are given respectable updates on this album. “What He’s Done for Me” becomes born again as smooth jazz in the hands of Hodges and Swain. Their take on “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” makes for the perfect follow-up, Lynda’s voice soaring beyond the clouds, amply supported by her own background vocal arrangement. Her performance of “Mary Did U Know?” is deeply moving, the profound lyrics sung with power and conviction (“Did U know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod / And when you kissed your little baby, you kissed the face of God?”).
Such delivery intensifies for the last three songs on the album, each revealing the type of sentiment only expressed by a believer that has been through their share of trials and tribulations. “My Everything” is designed to remind those going through their own personal storms that God is still in the midst. This belief is reinforced by “Give Me Jesus,” which is perhaps Hodges at her most soul-piercing moment on the album. Backed only by Swain’s piano, her voice conveys a life of walking by faith and not by sight, holding onto intangible hope while trapped in the depths of hopeless situations. By comparison, “Hold On” is a defiant rallying cry, the persistent witness from one saint to another of what God can do.
While it has taken many years for Lynda Hodges to get to this point, it is obvious that the time has been well spent. By continuing to work faithfully with other groups, writing and arranging material for fellow artists, it has only made her solo effort ten times stronger as a result. In a world that hangs delicately in the balance between the sacred and the profane, Free has the ability to speak to seasoned saints as well as those new to the faith, offering an inspirational message with a peace that surpasses all understanding as its payoff.
Review by Jason Randall Smith - Review You - Ariel Publicity
Discography
Title: Free
Released: August 2010
Format: CD
Label: Self-produced
Producer: Lynda Hodges and Eddie Hicks
Singles: “Free”, “Bright Side”, " Bless our Love", "Mary Did U Know?", "Stand", "What He's Done for Me," "Great is thy Faithfulness," "I'm Not Ashamed", "My Everything", "Give Me Jesus," "Hold On"
Photos
Bio
Singer/songwriter Lynda Hodges is a native Washingtonian who developed a deep love for music at an early age due to the influence of her music aficionado father, Leonard Hodges. That love is on display in her debut CD, “Free,” with its eclectic mix of soulful vocals and Christian jazz, blues, gospel and R&B music. She credits a host of gospel music titans for fueling her passion including Andre’ Crouch and the Disciples, The Hawkins Family, Richard Smallwood and the Smallwood Singers, The Voices Supreme, and Commissioned.
With her debut CD release of “Free,” solo recording artist Lynda Hodges takes a different path with Christian music. She wrote or arranged most of the songs on the eleven-track CD that includes several music genres. Her music does not fit neatly into any genre with her drawing comparisons to Jill Scott, Lalah Hathaway, and Ledisi. But Lynda unabashedly shares the gospel of Jesus Christ with a sound all her own. Her rousing blues rendition of “I’m Not Ashamed,” jazzy “What He’s Done for Me” and Latin and R&B-infused title track, “Free” highlight the diversity listeners will find on the CD. She has a fiery four-piece band and a corps of talented backup vocalists that will make her upcoming live shows a spiritual and musical treat for fans. “I want to offer songs to inspire, soothe, increase faith and give courage to overcome struggles; to worship, praise and thank God,” Lynda says.
At the tender age of 7, Lynda started singing formally in area churches. As she grew, her passion for music, ministry and performing grew even more. She joined her first formal group, the award-winning contemporary gospel group, Reality, when she was 16. Reality was a finalist in the Washington Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) Gospel Music Competition, one of KFC’s four regional competitions in the country.
Lynda’s passion for music and her experience with music ministry and genres reached new heights after she left the Washington area to attend Oakwood College (now University). While there, Lynda sang with several groups including the Oakwood College Choir, contemporary gospel group His Own, and Blessed Peace Chorale, led by Take 6 founders Mervyn Warren and Mark Kibble. It was with the group His Own that Lynda developed her expressive, solo style and ‘found her voice.’ Since her return to the DC area, Lynda has sung with several Christian groups and choirs including Vision, the Adventist Student Association Chorale, in HIS image, Special Selection, New Genesis and Capitol Hill Mass Choirs and GRACE. She still sings with the Capitol Hill Chorale and Ecclesia and now resides in Maryland. Also since her return, she began writing and arranging for others including Darian Horn on his 2005 debut CD, “Awesome” and GRACE, with an arrangement on their 2007 CD entitled “GRACEfull.” She was a background vocalist on “Awesome,” the debut CD from Stellar Award nominee Minister Terrell Hunt.
While Lynda was faithfully seeding the music ministry of other vineyards, the seeds for her own music ministry had taken root and began to grow. Now a newly-minted solo recording artist, what may have been cloudy at times but is crystal clear now is how God used her treasure trove of music and life experiences to shape the singer and songwriter she has become. Lynda says, “Through my life, God has blessed me with trials and struggles to enable me to understand better the human condition. I want to speak to the masses and tell some and remind others of the goodness of God and how our worship of Him will sustain us through anything.” In essence, we are “Free.”
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