Art Ensemble of Chicago, Kabalaba (side A)

While it was not released until 1978, Kabalaba documents a concert from 1974. It's roughly contemporaneous with Fanfare for the Warriors, and, like that album includes Muhal Richard Abrams on piano. It's a continuous, diverse piece that reflects the full dynamic range of the group. The quiet parts are a lot more extroverted than, for example, People in Sorrow, and this makes sense because extreme introversion is harder to create in a concert setting. The loud parts are a great document of the Art Ensemble at their most full-bore. 28 minute sides aren't great for fidelity, though the primitive concert recording probably already lost the extreme frequencies. The packaging is cool, with a classic AACM Afrocentric painting on the front and beautiful black & white photos of the musicians on the back.