Jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp strikes a balance of savage improvisation and compositional ambition on this 1966 free-jazz masterwork, channeling political anger while embracing the scope of black American music. The three-part, 19-minute opus “A Portrait of Robert Thompson (As a Young Man)” finds Shepp and his octet twisting, spluttering, and screeching, but also referencing blues, gospel, and Dixieland. The celebratory title track rides on James Brown-esque horn riffs, while “Basheer” culminates in a crescendo of snarling tenor sax.