Optometry

Some time after the illbient movement that brought him to prominence had faded away, DJ Spooky moved in a surprising-but-not-really direction, joining forces with pianist Matthew Shipp as part of the Thirsty Ear label’s Blue Series. Optometry features tracks by a group consisting of Shipp, bassist William Parker, drummer Guillermo E. Brown, and saxophonist Joe McPhee, with guest appearances by saxophonist Daniel Carter, violinist Daniel Bernard Roumain, rapper High Priest of Antipop Consortium, and poet Carl Hancock Rux on the stunning “Asphalt (Tome II).” Spooky chops the performances up and remixes them, contributing turntables, electronic noise, kalimba, and a dash of upright bass, and turning the whole thing into a swirling odyssey that’s not jazz, hip-hop, psychedelia, or sound art, but all these things and more at once.