Featuring friends such as: Ray Brown, Sam Jones bass Bob Durham, Ed Thigpen, Louis Hayes drums.
The purchase of the legendary German label MPS Edel strengthens its jazz catalogue. For the first time the entire JazzPortfolio of MPS will be digitalized and simultaneously made available on a wide range of selected CD and Vinyl releases. Following the claim “reforest the legend”, a specialized MPS promotion team cooperating with the label Edel Content is carrying out an extensive reenactment of MPS releases for their audiophile vinylseries “AAA”. The reissue of 180g vinyl and artwork is done with strict attention to the original first releases. The team hopes to enter into the digital world, spreading additional values and features centred around the cult status of the label on the web. As a starting shot the Oscar PetersonBox “Exclusively for My Friends” combines all six original LPs from the series with a booklet that includes scans of the tape boxes and liner notes of the audiophile remasteringprocess of AAA producer Dirk Sommer.
“Exclusively for My Friends” is widely seen as the centrepiece of any Oscar Peterson collection.
Peterson himself went into raptures about the MPSRecordings, stating that, thanks to the intimate recording atmosphere in Hans Georg BrunnderSchwer’s living room and his pursuit of perfection as a sound engineer and producer, they belonged to his best. The private recordings were made between 1963 and 1968 and are the impressive result of the longstanding friendship between the exceptional Canadian pianist and the label owner from the black forest. They serve to document Peterson’s exquisite playing style in high profile trios as well as BrunnerSchweer’s keenness to create almost audiophile sound characteristics. The AAA pressing of the complete audiophile edition is carried out on 180 gram virgin vinyl.
The sound of the original mastertapes was carefully optimized in a pure analog mastering process to free them from their traces of aging.
To try it for yourself on CD if you prefer, click on the image below ...
