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MPS Records

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German jazz label founded in 1968 in Villingen by Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer as a successor to SABA. MPS stands for Musik Produktion Schwarzwald (Music Production Black Forest), but was later advertised as Most Perfect Sound. It is often referred to as a German equivalent of Blue Note, a jazz label famed for its sound. The releases were distributed from 1971 by BASF and from 1976 by Metronome Records GmbH (renamed Metronome Musik GmbH in 1977). In 1983, when the budgets for recording jazz had irrevocably dwindled, Brunner-Schwer switched to recording classical music for his HGBS label and sold the rights to MPS to Philips, which then transferred it to Polydor, whose sister company Motor Music began re-releasing MPS recordings in 1993. In 1999, the MPS archives were handed over to Universal Jazz Germany in Hamburg. Several vinyl reissues were also released by Speakers Corner Records. On January 7, 2014, ten years after Brunner-Schwer's death, Edel acquired MPS's back catalogue from Universal and his son Andreas Brunner-Schwer and long-time colleague Friedhelm Schulz now head the team recording once again in Villingen. The label was official relaunched in 2022 when key releases from its catalogue were reissued on CD and limited-edition vinyl in partnership with New York-based Bob Frank Entertainment. Label code: LC 0979 / LC 00979. Studio: MPS-Studio, Villingen. Record company: MPS Records GmbH (until August 1983).