Sure it was bold of Thirsty Ear to use the title of Ornette Coleman's classic 1959 record for their new promotional compilation. And sure it's not the most clever thing, but as far as boldness goes, the label's earned their stripes.

Thirsty Ear's Blue Series, overseen by pianist Matthew Shipp, is one of the few American labels around right now that calls out for completion. Not that each title is so perfect (though most of them are truly great), but each new release is an episode, another line of logic in the label's unspoken argument that good music defies definition. The bassic modus operandi on their most impressive titles is a merging of jazz and electronics, and the label is continually blurring and redrawing that line while using a growing set of jazz players and sound manipulators.

Listening to the sampler reinforces Thirsty Ear's successes. Attempting to differentiate between jazz-inflected hip hop, beat-oriented improv, electronica noir and whatever other fusoid catagories might be dreamt up is useless. Once you think you've got it down, you're proven wrong. The twin saxes of The Kidd Jordan/Fred Anderson Quartet (with the celebrated William Parker/Hamid Drake rhythm section) are responsible for the most danceable cut here. And DJ Wally (who got his start on the New York rave fave label Liquid Sky) unleashes a slow funk groove, '70s on top with thick beats underneath, using Parker, Shipp, Guierllmo E. Brown, Daniel Carter, Khan Jamal and David S. Ware in his band. What is contained on this disc is just strong, modern music (and at a $7 list price).

A dozen cuts are culled from the nearly two dozen releases in the series, including tracks from upcoming releases by Tim Berne's Science Friction; a David S. Ware string group with Shipp, Parker, Brown, Mat Maneri and Daniel Bernard Roumain; a new Blues Series Coninuum installment with Shipp, Parker, Roumain, Gerald Cleaver, FLAM, and Evan Zipporyn; and a much delayed El-P project with Shipp, Parker, Carter, Brown, Roy Campbell and Steve Swell. Also present are tracks from Shipp, DJ Spooky, a Parker trio with Drake and Billy Bang, and a Spring Heel Jack cut (including Shipp, Evan Parker, Han Bennink, Paul Rutherford, Kenny Wheeler and others). If you've been cautious, squeamish or just foolish about the Thirsty Ear experiment, you owe yourself an introduction.