The British-born bassist was the first, and probably the most successful, rock/blues/jazz bassist to treat his instrument like both a rhythm and lead instrument, often in the same song. (There are a number of songs, in fact, where it's just his bass and his voice, playing thick chords and dazzling single note runs, sometimes simultaneously.)
This guy has technique like Bill Gates has money.
He has a couple of solo albums, a number of collaborations with folks both known (Brian Auger of Brian Auger's Oblivion Express and Pete York, late of the Spencer Davis Group) and unknown (Frank Diez, Konstantin Wecker).
His best work was with a sadly overlooked trio of the 1970s, Back Door. WIth a lineup that featured a drummer, a sax/flute (and occasional keyboards) player, and Hodgkinson, whose bass is out in front most of the time, Back Door played jazz rock, not in the fusion sense, but in the "play the piss out of whatever we want" sense.
He's a monster, monster player: Jack Bruce would give his left testicle to be able to play like this. Hell, who wouldn't? (Well, maybe Jaco.)
Now, in the interests of full disclosure, I must admit that Hodkinson briefly played in Whitesnake, a waste of time hair metal band of the 80s. (I guess we're all allowed one mistake. I'm sure the gig paid the bills for awhile.) In an odd career move, Whitesnake leader David Coverdale (former Deep Purple vocalist) recorded a version of the album "Slide It In" with Hodkinson on bass and guitarist Neil Murray, which was released in Europe, then rerecorded the entire album with a different bassist and guitarist in the U.S. The U.S. version was a big seller.
If you want to hear a complete rethinking of electric bass guitar, played with both exquisite taste and jaw dropping speed, seek out any of his discs, especially with Back Door. Subwoofer recommended.
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