Art Ensemble of Chicago, Certain Blacks (side A)

Certain Blacks originally dates from 1970, though my domestic copy came out in 1976.  The strangest thing about it might be the presence of drummer William A. Howell.  There is surprisingly little information about him on the Internet, and this appears to be his only collaboration with the Art Ensemble.  His drumming here is the most fluid and traditionally jazz-y of any Art Ensemble album, and it gives a strong sense of flow to the whole album.  The shorter pieces on side B are partly shaped around this flow, where the long "Do What They Wanna" on side A both follows and violates it at the same time.  "Do What They Wanna" resembles Ornette's Friends and Neighbors, which was also from 1970, with ensemble shouting alternating with heavy instrumental sections.  Guest contributors Chicago Beau and Julio Finn are often maligned, but their personalities are in the background here here, perhaps only prominent on the blues interpretation at the end.  The black and white cover of my copy looks worse than the original full-color packaging but better than the strangely modern CD cover.