MPS feels like a musical treasure trove that had to be dug up from the twilights of Germany’s Black Forest. With diversity, courage, and quality as the trademarks of the label, founder Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer achieved world-wide renown as Germany’s first jazz label. A Mecca for famous international jazz stars and a host of talented young European discoveries.

• Audiophile Vinyl LP
• Pressed at Optimal Media in Germany
• Remastered from the Original Master Tape

Although MPS was known for his studio and brilliant recording technique, Kühn decided not to record his albums in the studio in the Black Forest. At MPS, Rolf Kühn was allowed free rein to choose the team for the recordings and so he decided to get Wolfgang Hirschmann on board, one of the most interesting sound engineers in jazz at that time. Together with him and seven other musicians, “Total Space” was recorded in January 1975 in the Cornet Studios in the south of Cologne, Germany. Having a free jazz background, Kühn breaks out in a new direction towards jazz fusion with this album.

“My recordings for the MPS label always benefited from an atmosphere of artistic freedom, something that I am still thankful for. Personally, the late label owner Hans-Georg Brunner-Schwer was more rooted in traditional forms of jazz, especially swinging piano jazz. His productions with Oscar Peterson are still legendary today. But even so he allowed a lot of progressive jazz to be recorded for MPS. Although I got to know Brunner-Schwer through pianist Horst Jankowski, it was clear that when I signed a contract with MPS I would record a more freely experimental jazz. MPS was the first German record company that recorded solely jazz and was open for experiments and new fields of music. For „Total Space“ I was allowed to try out new things like having two drummers, Daniel Humair and Kaspar Winding and to invite completely freethinking players like Albert Mangelsdorff or Gerd Dudek to the recording.” (Rolf Kühn)

Musicians:

Bass – Bo Stief
Clarinet, Arranged By, Producer – Rolf Kühn
Drums – Daniel Humair, Kasper Winding
Electric Piano, Piano – Joachim Kühn
Guitar – Philip Catherine
Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Gerd Dudek
Trombone – Albert Mangelsdorff

Track Listing:

01. Uncle Archibald
02. Buzz
03. Lopes
04. Total space
05. Miss Maggie

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