Pianist Matthew Shipp has recorded prolifically for decades, and on numerous different labels, but his output for the Thirsty Ear Blue Series holds a special place. The cohesive album-art aesthetic; the vibrant mix of acoustic free jazz, experimental hip-hop and turntablism in the same catalogue—they all helped make the Blue Series a scene-setter in the new millennium. With the Blue Series, Shipp not only served as artistic director for a label with plenty of top-tier names (including Craig Taborn, Tim Berne, Sexmob, Meat Beat Manifesto and DJ Spooky), he also revealed an adventurous cross-genre streak on his own releases, like Nu Bop, Equilibrium and Harmony and Abyss, part of his collaboration with innovative programmer and engineer Chris Flam. New Orbit, released in 2000, came a bit earlier in the series. It’s a spacious, beautiful, darkly hued acoustic quartet album, featuring Shipp with one of the heaviest line-ups imaginable: Wadada Leo Smith on trumpet, William Parker on bass and Gerald Cleaver on drums. (The comparatively swing-oriented Pastoral Composure, Shipp’s Blue Series debut, had the same rhythm section, but with Roy Campbell on trumpet.) From the top, the quartet establishes the almost eerie “New Orbit” motif, which returns in different guises throughout the program: First with Shipp’s solo piano on “Orbit 2”, then via Parker’s bowed bass on “Orbit 3” and later, as a duo, on the closing “Orbit 4”. The textures and combinations vary widely. On “Paradox X”, a Shipp-Cleaver duet yields an otherworldly mood, with harp-like plucked and strummed piano strings and inventive percussion timbres. “Paradox Y”, meanwhile, finds Smith on muted trumpet, responding intently to Parker’s dense legato bowing. The remaining quartet tracks—“Chi”, “Syntax”, “U Feature” and the brief “Maze Hint”—have a warmth and clarity, rhythmic elasticity and harmonic elusiveness that mark the most timeless music. It all makes a strong case for New Orbit’s status as an essential document of the 2000s.