Oscar Peterson - Exclusively for my Friends

garylkoh

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A box set that I am eagerly awaiting. Soon to be released on 180gm virgin vinyl...carefully preserving the sound of the original master tapes with a completely analogue mastering process. If the sound of this set is as good as the Speaker's Corner "Lost Tapes" re-issue, this will be the cornerstone of my Oscar Peterson collection.

"Exclusively for my Friends" was a legendary set of six albums on the Musik Produktion Schwarzwald (MPS) by Oscar Peterson. They were originally private performances in the living room of Peterson's friend Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer. The set includes performances with Peterson's trio of Ray Brown on double bass and Ed Thigpen on drums, as well as bassist Sam Jones and drummers Louis Hayes or Bobby Durham.

Oscar Peterson thought that they were his best recordings due to Brunner-Schwer's pursuit of perfection as recording engineer, and the intimate atmosphere of the living room in Villingen performing to small groups of friends. The Penguin Guide to Jazz lists the entire series as among the core recordings to own.

Soon, the revived MPS label will re-issue "Exclusively for my Friends" as an AAA pressing on 180-gr virgin vinyl. Watch for it!!

http://www.mps-music.com/reforest-the-legend/oscar-peterson/en/

oscar-peterson_box_header_1.jpg
 

garylkoh

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LL21

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Dec 26, 2010
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I do have the MPS CDs of this...great stuff. I think I have all the MPS recordings of Oscar Peterson, and I think they are all excellent. I am a big Oscar Peterson fan and have a number of his albums.
 

jazdoc

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This one is pretty spectacular:

 

lasercd

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MPS was a very interesting label. The scope of the label was extremely broad ranging from fairly pedestrian straight ahead big band jazz to free improvisation and lots in between. Some of the best European jazz artists recorded for the label. Some of the electric jazz rock/fusion albums by Joachim Kuhn, Wolfgang Dauner's Et Cetera, Pork Pie and Volker Kriegel are legendary.

Uniformly the recordings are excellent. For a period of time there was a distribution deal in the US with BASF. Those US domestic pressings are to be avoided. They suck compared to the German versions.
 

lasercd

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Gary:

There were actually 2 Pork Pie albums: Transitory and The Door Is Open. Slightly different lineups but both exceptional albums.

I just received a Charlie Mariano album that is a forerunner to Pork Pie. Its called "Cascade". It was released on Chris Hinze's Keytone label in 1974. Very similar lineup to Pork Pie. Its an incredible plugged in jazz rock album. Jasper van't Hof goes nuts on the electric piano. As a bonus the recording is spectacular. Apparently it was also reissued in 1981 with different artwork. If you like Pork Pie you need to check it out as well.
 

microstrip

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"MPS" stood for "Most Perfect Sound" - when the original albums were pressed on BASF, they were legendary in Asia and Europe. Not sure if they even made it across the pond here.

Gary,

Perhaps I can add that the nick you refer "Most Perfect Sound" was mainly due to the recording quality, not just to the pressing! The MPS acronym stands for "Musik Produktion Schwarzwald MPS” (Music Production Black Forest).

Fortunately I also have a few of their LPs, including some of the Oscar Peterson's.
 

jfrech

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I am looking forward to this box set also !
 

microstrip

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The box set is available in both vinyl and TAPE!!! Contact Volker Lange at Lutz Precision.

http://www.analog-audio.eu/

I have ordered the box set, but it only be delivered in a few days, as they sold out their stock at Munich 2014. I am still researching which tapes I will get - the six would be too expensive!
 

microstrip

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call me obtuse but I couldn't find the Peterson vinyl set on their website. is it different from the set offered thru soundstage direct?

It is not yet on their site - you have to email them to get a quote.
 

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