I Heard You Twice the First Time


I Heard You Twice the First Time is a jazz album by Branford Marsalis that explores different aspects of the blues, featuring guest appearances from B.B. King, John Lee Hooker, Russell Malone, Wynton Marsalis and Linda Hopkins. It peaked at number 1 on the Top Jazz Albums chart. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Individual or Group.

Reception

In his AllMusic review, Scott Yanow calls the album "interesting if erratic," specifically identifying the performance by Linda Hopkins and concluding that this is an "intriguing set that is worth picking up." People praised the album, calling out the "four distinct blues-guitar styles" and the "verve and execution" of the quartet numbers as high points. Entertainment Weekly characterized Marsalis as "a commanding, even great, saxophonist of the post-hard-bop school, but a wayward conceptualist," and criticized the album as suffering from a "serious identity crisis."

Personnel