Unexpected Recoveries

Magic Peterson Sunshine is an indispensable compilation for the European jazz lover. It is the culmination of tireless archival digging by London-based DJ and audiophile Gilles Peterson, whose obsession with the German label MPS (née SABA) has resulted in this handpicked treasure trove of material. The label has near-mythic roots, founded as it was deep in the heart of Germany's Black Forest by the reclusive Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer, a.k.a. HGBS, whose house concerts and personal studio captured and released some of the most forward-thinking jazz of the 1960s. With over 500 recordings to his credit, a catalog surpassed only by producer Manfred Eicher of ECM Records in Munich, this is the merest slice of one astronomical pie.