Hans Pfitzer at his workplace in Richthofenstrasse in Villingen in 1970 (©Archive MPS-Studio e.V. / German Hasenfratz)
Hans B. Pfitzer died on January 31. He headed the Advertising & Public Relations department for MPS-Records from 1968 until spring 1981, having previously worked in the SABA advertising department since July 1964.
In 1999, I visited Hans Pfitzer for an interview in Niedereschach in the Black Forest. On the occasion of the book release “MPS-Jazzin’ the Black Forest” I planned a concert evening with Lee Konitz, Gunter Hampel Quintett & Wolfgang Dauner with an exhibition of selected SABA/MPS covers. An article about graphics at MPS was to be written for the program booklet, a good opportunity to get to know Hans and ask him about his work at MPS.
Last year Hans got in touch, his health was causing him increasing problems, he was in the process of dissolving his household and wanted all the memories of MPS records to find a place in our club archive. We were given a collection of documents, anecdotes, photos, file notes, correspondence and even an MPS tie pin (from the Japanese distributor) or photos with autographs of Oscar Peterson, Ella Fitzgerald or Friedrich Gulda. A great source of information that helps us to better understand the structure of one of the most important European jazz labels at the time. Hans also became our oldest member, his mischievous sense of humor was refreshing. I visited him a few months ago for a more in-depth interview. Some of the quotes in italics here in the text are also from a transcript of his memoirs.
Before Hans Pfitzer joined MPS in 1968, he worked for SABA, where he designed catalogs for SABA records. (© Archive MPS-Studio e.V.)
Before starting work at MPS on June 1, 1968, Pfitzer worked in the SABA advertising department just 200 meters from MPS headquarters as the crow flies until the end of 1967. He then moved to the well-known BRAUN AG in Frankfurt, where his work as advertising manager was only a brief interlude because he was urgently needed again in Villingen. What’s more, his family still lived in the Black Forest.
“It was the beginning of May 1968 when Mike Pfeiffer, MPS Head of Sales, approached me and offered me a position at MPS with the same salary as at BRAUN. Tired of driving in Frankfurt, I gladly accepted the offer and resigned within the probationary period.”
After SABA was sold to the American company GTE in 1968, Hans-Georg Brunner-Schwer decided to continue SABA-Records, which he had founded in the early 1960s, and SABA-Studio, which until then had belonged to the company, under a new name, as the Americans showed no interest in the music division. This is how MPS (Musik Produktion Schwarzwald) came into being and the company started work on April 1, 1968. Hans Pfitzer worked in the house directly on Richthofenstrasse (today again a residential building), not in the adjoining house where the studio, label and administration were located. Pfitzer had already designed brochures for SABA records before joining MPS. He got to know the then technical director of SABA, Hans-Georg Brunner-Schwer, when he asked him to design an LP for a Graf Zeppelin LP.
“My new workplace is now a residential building on Richthofenstrasse. An engineer from the SABA development department used to live here with his family. Now I have five rooms at my disposal. There is space for the secretary’s office in the entrance area. The in-house print shop is in the kitchen next door. A small offset press has been approved by HGBS. I want to print the press service on it.”
An exciting time began for Hans Pfitzer. In his memoirs, he writes about a photo showing him at one of the legendary house concerts in the Villa Brunner-Schwer: “I confess that the passion and obsession with music of HGBS (Hans-Georg Brunner-Schwer), whose willingness to invest a lot of money in his domain, gave me a lot of scope and opportunity to live out my creativity. What’s more, I was also able to experience an unusually large number of interesting things.”
Hans Pfitzer (left) with Erroll Garner (© Archive MPS-Studio e.V. / German Hasenfratz)
Left: Gifts from the Black Forest: cherry brandy and bacon. The governing mayor of Berlin Klaus Schütz, Hans Pfitzer and Bully Buhlan in Berlin in 1972. Right: with Fritz Ewald, the organizer of the “VS Swingt” festival (Archive Pfitzer / MPS-Studio e.V.)
“I started my violin training when I was ten; I played violin in the school orchestra. In my early years, jazz was not accessible to me. But now – many years later – as my job gave me the opportunity to listen to jazz, I realized more and more what inspires and unites the community of jazz lovers. I had the opportunity to hear Oscar Peterson at a house concert (Villa Brunner-Schwer), was able to experience the Count Basie Band in Munich, came into personal contact with many musicians, Friedrich Gulda, for example … the MPS director of 1968 was rather underexposed to jazz, so he asked the so-called jazz pope J.E. Berendt for help with the categorization.”
Hans Pfitzer (left) in 1970 at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in London with HGBS (2nd from right), Ronnie Scott (far right)
Hans Pfitzer meticulously noted down his tasks in an order book with a consecutive numbering system: MPS catalogs, invitations, advertisements, press releases, support for journalists and TV, record covers, artist support and even the conception of the cover exhibition Meca ’72, incidentally an idea of HGBS’s wife – Marlies Brunner-Schwer. Up to 4 employees worked in his department in Richthofenstrasse. He also commissioned Wolfgang Baumann, Heinz Bähr, Gigi Berendt, Donald Brun and others to design covers. The first recorded order, with the order number 01 from 7.6.1968, was the cover for “Nonet” by Karel Velebny, the last orders in 1981 with the numbers 968 and 969 included an advertisement for the program booklet of the festival “VS Swingt” and the layout for a publication with Freddie Hubbard.
Top left: Setting up the Meca’72 exhibition, Hans Pfitzer on the ladder. Top right: the award-winning poster for Meca ’72, a collaboration between Pfitzer and graphic designer Heinz Bähr. Below: Dave Pike Set plays at a Meca ’72 exhibition in Hanover. (Photos ©MPS-Studio e.V./German Hasenfratz)
Pfitzer has designed many covers for MPS, from Oscar Peterson and Horst Jankowsi to Friedrich Gulda. He handled the final layouts, typography and production for the artwork submitted by other graphic artists. The name Pfitzer is rarely found on MPS covers. HGBS opposed the “cult of personality” (although he made exceptions for himself). Later, there were also written decrees to prevent this as far as possible.
“I would like to expressly point out that not all MPS covers were designed by me. In the case of LPs produced by others, the artwork for the covers was often supplied as well. For example, CAMPI Music (Gigi Campi’s label) supplied the covers designed by Heinz Bähr for the LPs of the Clarke-Boland Big Band. Some musicians made a point of having the cover designed by a graphic artist friend or took up the pen themselves, such as Hans Koller or Volker Kriegel. From June 1968, however, all MPS record sleeves, including those not designed by me, were produced by me.”
Design by Pfitzer for Oscar Peterson LP. Bottom right: The SHQ / Karel Velebny LP was No. 1 in Pfitzer’s order book.
In his memoirs, he describes all the departments of the MPS company and some of the players at MPS. Here he describes the bar of the recording studio, which is now a listed building:
….The recording studio is divided into a vestibule, recording room, editing/control room and archive rooms. In the vestibule there is a cozy place to linger with a table and corner bench, next to which is the bar counter. The selection of drinks is always sufficient and also caters to the special tastes of the musicians. Of course, you have to pay for what you consume. The cutter or an assistant is responsible for the cash register. For beer drinkers among the musicians, the “Tannenzäpfle” is the bestseller. White wine drinkers prefer HGBS’ favorite grape Auggener Schäf, a Chasselas from the Markgräfler Land region, whose digestibility is praised by the boss. Musicians have rarely been in the studio without male or female companions. So sometimes a part of the material fee just received transmuted into something immaterial in the twilight of the bar lighting. If the cabs drove up after midnight, there was a reason for this. But heated debates also gave rise to new world concepts and some production ideas.”
The bar of the MPS studio in a photo from 2022. Today, people are once again standing at the bar for a beer or glass of wine when a recording is being made or a concert is taking place. (Photo © MPS-Studio e.V.)
He describes the years between 1968 and 1976 as the best time at MPS. He was able to get to know many of the musicians and producers personally through his work, an important aspect for him, especially if he also liked them. Albert Mangelsdorff was one of them, and he had a personal friendship with the producer Dietrich Schulz-Köhn. The planet MPS seemed to have been a second home to him for many years. The following reminiscence can be found in his notes:
“The special experience this year: the moon landing of Apollo 11 on July 21, 1969. We experienced it in the recording studio; Rolf Donner (the sound engineer at MPS) had set up a TV set.”
Cover Horst Peter: “I had to pay tribute to Willi Fruth’s (MPS producer) penchant for frivolity with this cover. Even if I didn’t like it, I had to deliver the design.” Right: Pfitzer’s order number 136 for the Firehouse Charleston Band. Both LPs were developed for the Center sub-label.
In 1981, after almost 1000 orders had accumulated in the order book, MPS and Hans Pfitzer finally parted ways. He experienced the highs and lows of the music business at close quarters, as he was able to see in detail the sales figures, the enormous financial outlay for sales marketing and the associated problems in this music sector. The accusation repeatedly made by musicians that the promotional and advertising activities at SABA/MPS were sparse cannot be verified without further ado. The MPS studio archive gives a good overview of how much money was spent on advertisements, PR activities, tours and other measures. The instructions from the executive floor alone for the label’s marketing activities fill folders. Considering that we are talking about a musical niche here, the financial outlay was definitely exorbitant. At this point, you wish some musicians had a little more sense of reality with regard to record sales and the genre in which they operate.
Hans Pfitzer on 22.2.2024 in the MPS-Studio at a concert with Mario Batkovic (©MPS-Studio e.V. / Tøni Schifer)
In 2024, Hans got up the nerve to visit us again at a concert in the MPS studio. He was our oldest member. A walking stick helped him to climb the stairs to the first floor of the MPS studio. The Swiss Mario Batkovic played a concert in the studio. It was to be Hans’ last visit to his old place of work. As he said goodbye, he mischievously pulled his harmonica out of his trouser pocket and played a short serenade at the MPS counter.
I visited him for the last time on 24.1.25 in a retirement home in Villingen. It was obvious that he was embarking on his final journey. He died a week later. Farewell dear Hans. Thank you for everything.
(Tøni Schifer, February 2025)
The MPS guest book created by Hans Pfitzer, with many prominent entries. As well as an invitation from 1974 and a letter from J.E. Berendt to Pfitzer.
Addendum: the sons Andreas and Martin Pfitzer visited us in the studio and gave our association some wonderful things that give us great pleasure: including the original artwork of the highly recommended Don Sugar Cane Harris LP “Keyzop”, made from eggshells by Keefe West. The typography was designed by graphic artist Ulli Eichberger, who was also responsible for the legendary artwork of the CAN album “Tago Mago”. Many thanks, dear Pfitzer family!
The original artwork from eggshells by Keefe West, with a handwritten dedication to Hans Pfitzer on the back. Next to it the MPS release from 1975 (Photo © MPS-Studio e.V.)