MPS records

mrboogieman88

Can anyone recommend some dope records off the MPS label? I've heard George Duke's the Aura Will Prevail and I thought it was a cool record. It looks like there's some other cool stuff out there on this label, like this group Smoke looks dope, but I'm looking to hear from people who have actually heard some of this stuff...

fishmongerfunk

get all that dope art van damme, george shearing, and singers unlimited

dreskieboogie

Maybe you should buy some of the MPS comps and start from there...

Peace,

Dress

king_maxwell

It's a label I'm recently hipped to. This article is kinda cool. Owned by chemical company BASF, MPS made some sweet piano records (among others) from a rural German village. Says they made 700+ records, and that the piano sound was particularly tight.

I often listen to Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown & Milt Jackson's "Reunion Blues." And the Milt Bruckner Trio's "Play Chords."

Has anyone seen Jazzin' the Black Forest?

Agent45

Two words: Dave Pike

markus71

Slept on but great and super easy to nail down.

Art Farmer - From Vienna with Art

disco_che

So much goodness on MPS. I don't know where to start. You should include SABA records in your search because this was the labels name before it was changed to MPS (Musikproduktion Schwarzwald). There was a documentation made about the label recently but the name slips me at the moment:

Johnny Teupen
The Third Wave
Wolfgang Dauner (The Oimels, Et Cetera)
Charly Antolini (Soul Drum, In The Groove)
Klaus Weiss
Mark Murphy (on SABA)
George Duke (especially "The Inner Source")
Clare Fischer (Salsa Picante)
Clarke-Boland Bigband (especially the Latin Album)
Peter Herbolzheimer Rhythm Combination & Brass
Certain Lions & Tigers
Dave Pike Set
Volker Kriegel (Spectrum, Missing Link)
Nelson Riddle (Communication)
Dieter Reith
Ambros Seelos
Novi Singers have one album on MPS too


It'S incredible how much stuff they have put out in all the years.

neil_something

Bill Evans "Symbiosis" is a great record.

There is an MPS blog which should be a good start if you want to check out more.

LaserWolf

get all that dope art van damme, george shearing, and singers unlimited

This is of course a joke. Ha ha those guys aren't funky.

I like Art Van Damme. Jazz accordion, not funky, the MPS stuff he did are good.

Singers Unlimited have their moments, plus an important sample.

Some one else will have to defend Shearing.

MoogMan

Some one else will have to defend Shearing.

Shearing's The Way We Are has good moments and a nice rendition
of Aquarius.
Grabbable if it's cheap.

DJBombjack

The audio quality of MPS pressings are among the best

LaserWolf

So much goodness on MPS. I don't know where to start. You should include SABA records in your search because this was the labels name before it was changed to MPS (Musikproduktion Schwarzwald). There was a documentation made about the label recently but the name slips me at the moment:

Johnny Teupen
The Third Wave
Wolfgang Dauner (The Oimels, Et Cetera)
Charly Antolini (Soul Drum, In The Groove)
Klaus Weiss
Mark Murphy (on SABA)
George Duke (especially "The Inner Source")
Clare Fischer (Salsa Picante)
Clarke-Boland Bigband (especially the Latin Album)
Peter Herbolzheimer Rhythm Combination & Brass
Certain Lions & Tigers
Dave Pike Set
Volker Kriegel (Spectrum, Missing Link)
Nelson Riddle (Communication)
Dieter Reith
Ambros Seelos
Novi Singers have one album on MPS too


It'S incredible how much stuff they have put out in all the years.

MPS records are usually reasonable priced, lots of good artist performances, and great sound.

Sun Ra
Baden Powell
Monty Alexander
Kahn Ali Akbar & John Handy

Don't be afraid. Find em, listen to em.

disco_che

And that "Mission To Mars" LP by Roland Kovac on SABA is one of my mod-jazz favs.




Prices can get pretty nasty especially for SABA LPs. It's not just the pressing quality but the high-class recording technology being used. The recording mastermind behind it all was engineer Willi Fruth.

There are some MPS side productions that should be considered as well. On the Cornet Label you have "Hammond Explosion" by Dieter Reith and "Piano Explosion" by Eric Th??ner which are both bangers. The "Guitar Explosion" from this series should be avoided unless it's very cheap.
Also there's the Session Label which released the beautiful "Bossa Nova Fire" compilation with a great Mereilles Batucada.










BTW, this is a blog that should keep you busy for quiet a while:

mps-love

mannybolone

Monty Alexander: Rass = breaks classique (no, seriously it's good)

And I ride for that Third Wave. Pinay sistahs galore!

the_dL

i have long been a fan of the MPS even if the playing isnt great, the recording/sound has never let me down, it is also one of the only decent jazz labels i tend to find out here in australia in thrift stores etc. I will have a look through and rip a few of the more obscure things i have if you like

Kinetic

Peter Herbolzheimer Rhythm Combination & Brass

If you only buy one MPS record, make sure it's this one:

bull_ox

Having looked out for the stuff for several years, the good titles generally aren't available/inexpensive in the US.

Krautbreaks

The good saba/mps pressings are all sought after rarities and pricey and well known to dealers, collectors and even small time grabbers!


You have to get an idea about how the distributing companies changed and what albums came out within these time periods to be a successfull hunter...

SABA beginning to 1969
MPS ... - 1972
BASF ... - 1978
Metronome (black)...


The Metronome stuff (even a lot of the 80s releases) is pretty underrated. Especially in the funky fusion/open drumbreak area there is still a lot of unkown jewellery to be scored.

Be aware that there are (rare) non-album 45 releases out
like "Third Wave - Love train"!


Be also sure to check BASF releases of different countries-
one of my cool finds for this year was "Five - just us" which is