I Heard You Twice the First Time
This is one of the buried treasures of jazz recordings. Branford Marsalis leads his top-flight group (Kenny Kirkland - piano, Robert Hurst - bass, Jeff 'Tain' Watts - Drums) through a century of blues history. They dig deep into every style from call-and-response field chants (Berta, Berta - from August Wilson's transcendant play "The Piano Lesson") through the blues-n'-boogie of John Lee Hooker, all the way up to postbop free-jazz. The lineup of guest stars and featured soloists is amazing, including BB King, John Lee Hooker, Russell Malone, Wynton Marsalis and Linda Hopkins. Branford is in control of it all throughout, and really displays some spectacular chops as well as brilliant taste. The way his quote of Charlie Parker's "Parker's Mood" blends seamlessly into BB Kings quintessential blues stylings is pure heaven. If you want to introduce a friend to the amazing scope and breadth of jazz, this might be the perfect album for such a task. 5-stars, and then some. As an added bonus, the liner notes by Delfeayo Marsalis are some of the best I have ever encountered.