Georg Duke After

A curious happenstance in 1966 triggered the partnership between MPS head Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer and George Duke. Brunner-Schwer was in San Francisco to record the Art van Damme Quintet.

Just barely 20 at the time, pianist George Duke made his recording debut with a straight-ahead quartet also including the obscure bass trumpeter David Simmons, bassist John Heard and drummer George Walker. This was one of Duke's very few all-standards sets, and he proved to be a fine hard bop/soul-jazz pianist; unfortunately, that phase would not last long. Highlights include "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes", "Jeannine" and "Secret Love." But by the time the pianist recorded his second date as a leader three years later, this particular George Duke would be history.

Bach and the French baroque: The working title of the programme is Bach and the French baroque. L’art de toucher le clavecin by François Couperin (1668-1733) was published in 1716 as a manual for the French style and gives important instructions for playing the harpsichord as regards finger positions and ornamentations. The préludes are written-out improvisations in the style of the Préludes non mésurée.

After Welcome to the Black Forest (The Sounds of MPS), a magnificent compilation in 24-bit Hi-Res quality released exclusively for Qobuz in February 2022, highlighting the variety of MPS Records' eclectic catalogue, now comes Reunion in the Black Forest - The Sounds of MPS Vol. II! With this second volume, also available exclusively on Qobuz, the German label founded in 1968 by Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer proves yet again the breadth of its repertoire.

After Welcome to the Black Forest (The Sounds of MPS), a magnificent compilation in 24-bit Hi-Res quality released exclusively for Qobuz in February 2022, highlighting the variety of MPS Records' eclectic catalogue, now comes Reunion in the Black Forest - The Sounds of MPS Vol. II! With this second volume, also available exclusively on Qobuz, the German label founded in 1968 by Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer proves yet again the breadth of its repertoire.

After Welcome to the Black Forest (The Sounds of MPS), a magnificent compilation in 24-bit Hi-Res quality released exclusively for Qobuz in February 2022, highlighting the variety of MPS Records' eclectic catalogue, now comes Reunion in the Black Forest - The Sounds of MPS Vol. II! With this second volume, also available exclusively on Qobuz, the German label founded in 1968 by Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer proves yet again the breadth of its repertoire.