MONTREUX JAZZ FESTIVAL

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1 MONTREUX JAZZ FESTIVAL IMAGINE A BEAUTIFUL LOCATION, A GENIUS LINE-UP AND THE PRO AUDIO ABILITIES OF SOME OF THE WORLD S LEADING MANUFACTURERS WITH SELECT ENGINEERS IN TOW. THIS RENOWNED JAZZ FESTIVAL IS SO PRESTIGIOUS THAT THE CREWS STILL GUSH SOME 46 YEARS AFTER THE EVENT WAS CONCEIVED. TPi S KELLY MURRAY WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO GET THE STORY FROM THE SPONSORS BEHIND THE SCENES AT ONE OF THE FESTIVAL CALENDAR S MOST SOUGHT-AFTER EVENTS. READ ALL ABOUT IT, FROM SWITZERLAND WITH LOVE... Claude Nobs, Géo Voumard and René Langel founded the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1967 with help from Ahmet Ertegün and Nesuhi Ertegün of Atlantic Records. In that time, a massive amount of artists and their crews have visited Lake Geneva. Four years ago, British console manufacturer DiGiCo became involved with the stylish Swiss festival as a way to not only service the organisers but to expand its growing company by making visiting engineers aware of product possibilities in the main three indoor venues dedicated to the festival. The company gained a prestigious Queen s Award for Enterprise in the International Trade category last year. It was the first time DiGiCo has won the award in this category, having previously received an award in 2005 in the Innovation category. The 2011 award was granted for almost doubling its overseas earnings and exporting the vast majority of its products since its incorporation in A decade later, and DiGiCo has made quite a name for itself, and at Montreux, it has gained an army of new admirers. James Gordon, DiGiCo s MD, explained: The organisers were not happy with their existing supplier and saw what we were doing with the SD7 and SD8 at the time. They were keen to build a good relationship with a console supplier they could get on with in the same way they have with Meyer Sound, the speaker supplier. It s a great showcase festival for us; every year Montreux has world class acts that come to perform and that means our consoles are presented to the top engineers in the world. Not to mention it s an amazing location and atmosphere. It has become a second family, most of the 62 TPi AUGUST 2012

2 Opposite: Lana Del Ray played using DiGiCo consoles. Below: DiGiCo s training room for visiting engineers; Alt-J on stage at the Jazz Cafe; DiGiCo s David Webby Webster with Ed Sheeran and sound engineer Chris Marsh; the setting in Lake Geneva still proves incredibly popular with engineers. crew remain the same each year so over time those early acquaintances have become strong supporters and friends. They are all DiGiCo experts on the consoles and have grown to appreciate the British sense of humour, a strong part of DiGiCo... he smiled. Over the last few years, the technical aspects developed within DiGiCo desks have benefitted the Montreux engineers a great deal. Gordon continued: When we got involved we had SD8 and SD7 consoles at the festival. This year though we had the complete range. Whether it was the numerous SD11 s in the smaller locations or the SD7 / SD5 combo in the Stravinski Hall. The Jazz Café was armed with an SD8 at FOH and an SD9 Rack Pack for monitors and Miles Davis had a second SD5 at FOH and an SD10 for monitor world, so really the complete range was deployed. This year we moved the main venues to 2G Optics with SD-Racks so we were full 96kHz from the mic to the speaker. Naturally, not every engineer traveling with an artist booked to play Montreux will have used a DiGiCo desk before hand, but the company has a solution for any such situation. One thing that s very noticeable about this festival in particular is how relaxed and well organised it is. Considering it boasts a 15 day run, welcoming artists and audio pros from all over the world, the smooth running vibe is all down to a well thought-out system from the sound sponsors. Gordon elaborated: It s a great environment to try the consoles in as we always have DiGiCo crew on hand and consoles in a demo room to help with training. At a festival, it s not so much about driving the features but experiencing the audio quality and speed, you can get to terms with the consoles. It s also great to speak to the touring crew about new features. This year we have some big FPGA feature advancements that surprised even those touring with DiGiCo. Montreux is without doubt very special to DiGiCo, and it s evident that the festival is thriving and generating impeccable sound where its desks are in use. But what makes this pretty Swiss event such a great one in the summer calendar for the live production community as a whole? It has just about everything going for it; an amazing location, a great history, world class restaurants and some of the best performers from around the world, stated Gordon. Oh and DiGiCo consoles in every venue... that must make it pretty close to utopia! THE DIGICO DIMENSION Montreux is more than a festival, it s an institution; it has inspired many an artist and manufacturer. It s always a great pleasure to be here, the atmosphere across the whole town is unique and addictive! stated Ed Sheeran s FOH Engineer, Chris Marsh. Montreux is more than a festival, it s an institution; it has inspired many an artist and manufacturer. I have spent the last 14 years as a Project Manager and Sound Engineer for Major Tom Limited, said Marsh, who was mixing the star s opening gig. This has enabled me to meet and work with a multitude of artists and their teams. I have been FOH or Production Manager for a few artists that have come to Major Tom and I met Ed when I was mixing FOH for Diana Ross TPi AUGUST

3 Below: The main festival entrance on the Lake Geneva side; Jazz in the Park; Line check in the Stravinski Hall; Meyer Sound s Miguel Lourtie, a European Technical Services Manager. last year. We started chatting about how his show could grow from where he was. To make the sound transition for Sheeran s live shows as smooth as possible, with a bigger and better sounding production out front, Marsh chose his reliable desk. With Ed I work on the SD11, not just for Montreux but as my console of choice. I am a big fan of DiGiCo products; I ve used them for over 10 years. In the last 18 months I ve used an SD7 with Diana Ross, an SD9 with Rumer and before that an SD8 with Michael Ball. For Ed Sheeran s show, Marsh used six inputs and eight effect engines. I love the fact that all of the SD consoles sound the same, there is no compromise on quality between the price brackets, you always know that the EQ will do exactly what it says it will, same for the dynamics, the pre-amps and the effects, and although the surfaces are scaled to different specifications there really is no issue with diving from one surface to another as they are all effectively the same to operate. It s particularly important for Ed Sheeran that I can have AUX sends, VCAs, inputs and matrix outs all on the same layer, so it s very useful to be able to create a bespoke console for bespoke needs. I need to use a lot of EQ on this show, we have very few inputs but a lot changes during the show, the EQ, particularly the dynamic EQ, is very effective on the SD range, Marsh said. Regardless of the familiarity of working with the same artist, Marsh knows that when a diverse performer like Sheeran is live, anything can happen if creativity takes over. Ed s show changes every day! You never know the set list till after the gig and loops change in complexity and length depending on the reaction from the crowd. Mixing on the fly is the only way. Ed just uses reverb and delay, he has a great voice and the changes in effects are only to suit the fabric of the songs and not to assist his voice, noted Marsh. It is challenging to mix, it may seem odd but one guy and a guitar is really hard, there is nothing to disguise any mistakes or tonal inaccuracies. The loop pedal also presents its own challenges as once a feedback or bum note has found its way into the loop, it is there for the whole song so a flexible EQ on the desk and fundamental understanding of frequencies is really important. We use a Sennheiser 2000 Series radio mic with an e 865 capsule. For the instruments [for Sheeran s band and own guitar] we use Avalon U5 DI boxes. We use these quite simply because we tried everything else and this combination is the best for the artist, concluded Marsh. Buford Jones of Meyer Sound added to this sentiment: Ed Sheeran playing in Miles Davis was my highlight. I found his show and sound I love the fact that all of the SD consoles sound the same, there is no compromise on quality between the price brackets. to be amazing. A great voice and uniquely different use of electronic effects gave this solo artist the sound of a full band. KEEN FOR KIMBRA Closing the festival, DiGiCo desks were again in full use. As a sound engineer since the late 70s, Dave Bracey has mixed the likes of Dépêche Mode, The Cure, Robbie Williams [for 10 years], Massive Attack and Bjork. For Montreux, Bracey was working with New Zealand native Kimbra, who recently spent some time on top of the 64 TPi AUGUST 2012

4 Below: The FOH position in the Stravinski Audataurium. British charts featuring on Gotye s Somebody That I Used To Know. At Montreux Jazz Festival, Kimbra was one of the final artists to play, closing a tremendous 2.5 weeks of gigs throughout June and July. Kimbra also played the infamous Miles Davis Hall, and Bracey noted: I used the SD5 because it was the FOH console provided there, and it was perfect for my needs. For Bracey, DiGiCo is always his design of choice, for six years he mixed on a D5 and since 2008 has opted to take the SD7 on tour outings. He described the SD5 as an excellent scale down of an SD7. Despite having little time for pre-production, the DiGiCo team provided great on-site technical support which enabled Bracey to do what he needed to perfect Kimbra s set. It was very useful to be allowed a few hours to run my multi-track through the SD5 to set the mix and program effects, he told TPi. Bracey mixed the show on snapshots as one group, and was dealing with 32 inputs plus effects. I used six onboard effects units and I m particularly pleased with some of the new additions there, he stated. Kimbra used a Sennheiser e 935 microphone, and Bracey described the singer s final results as not at all challenging to mix. The band are great and she s an excellent vocalist. Every song is quite specific. She gave me a lot of notes, as this was my first time mixing her. The production is great once you get in, it was a good result made easy by a great console to mix on, concluded Bracey. Over in Kimbra s monitor world is engineer Rod Matheson who also started out in the late seventies in Australia and ended up specialising in monitors for many major Australian artists. Gaining notoriety in his own right, this advanced to overseas touring with acts such as Split Enz, Silverchair, Il Divo and Kylie Minogue. Most recent international touring for Matheson has been with Bristol electronic stars Massive Attack, alongside FOH Engineer Dave Bracey. Matheson said: I currently use an SD11, because it will fit into a Samsonite suitcase and check in as luggage under 32kg! I can travel with it anywhere in the world - not to mention it sounds deluxe. For Matheson, a chance meeting with a DiGiCo desk 10 years ago has shaped the way he mixes today. I was thrown into a Kylie Minogue rehearsal with a D5 when they first came out. I haven t used another brand since, he explained. Initially it was daunting, transitioning from analogue to digital in a high pressure situation without any pre-gig training, but it didn t take long to realise that it was the way forward. With the SD11 set up for monitors, it is essential to access mixes quickly... macros can be utilised as the cue / assign button for up to eight mixes eliminating the need to revert to the master section each time. On a console so small, I find this the most time-saving and effective function. Matheson uses 32 inputs from the stage and approximately eight local for effects, talk lines, Kimbra has great control and understanding of production when it comes to her music. She likes to hear a full mix in her ears complete with reverb from me and effects returned from FOH. ambience mics and so on, and it s Kimbra s professionalism and talent which shined through on this gig. Kimbra has great control and understanding of production when it comes to her music. She likes to hear a full mix in her ears complete with reverb from me and effects returned from FOH. The challenge is to produce a deluxe mix every show, highlighted Matheson, who is only using in-ears; five stereo mixes, a shaker feed, and two mono mixes as backup in case the in-ears fail. 66 TPi AUGUST 2012

5 Below: Meyer Sound s Buford Jones; the popular Miles Davis Hall drew crowds; Noel Gallagher made the Stravinski crowd laugh between songs. And as for the overall experience for Matheson s second time at the festival, Montreux has yet again proved a working highlight of the year. Apart from the beautiful place that it is, everything is contained within the town, which forces everyone to socialise in a relatively confined area. If you are going to have a festival this is the ideal party vibe. I cannot wait for the next one! he laughed. RIDING THE WAVES At the Montreux Jazz Festival, I was representing Waves as their Live Product Specialist, supporting their SoundGrid system integrated in the DiGiCo platform, explained Fabrizio Piazzini, who grew up in an Italian area of Switzerland. I showed engineers how they could integrate the Waves technology into their workflow and demonstrated plug-ins like the C6 Multiband Compressor, Bass Rider and SSL Channels that let them tune their mixes using tools previously only available in the studio. sound systems for the festival. Meyer Sound has since been involved with the Montreux Jazz Festival for 26 years of the festival s 46-year history. Meyer Sound s Buford Jones still has very fond memories of the festival: My first time in Montreux was when I was touring as a sound mixer for Jackson Browne in 1980 when we played the MJF during the European leg of his tour. I was there once again with Al Jarreau in 1990 as his sound mixer. On both occasions, it was in and out rather quickly and I didn t get to see much of Montreux itself but the festival was tremendous fun and I was very happy to be involved. The place certainly had a vibe that was indeed something special. stress levels of touring. All the rooms are beautifully and accurately tuned where most visiting engineers can easily be satisfied and concentrate simply on their own work. I ve worked on many other festivals where a line check is all the engineer / artists get and a rushed schedule doesn t give engineers the best environment to work or network in before and after the show. Montreux certainly does give engineers and artists alike an almost effortless, comfortable and very productive work space. I think this is clearly evident in the majority of sound checks and concerts no matter what room they are performed in. Montreux s three main venues are the Miles Davis Hall, the Stravinski Auditorium and the My main objective since attending with Meyer Sound is to network with visiting engineers and ensure they are very comfortable working with the Meyer Sound platform. MEYER SOUND SUCCESS Founders of loudspeaker giants, Meyer Sound, John and Helen Meyer lived in Switzerland some years ago and met Claude Nobs [MJF founder] while he worked at the Institute of Advanced Music Studies. The Meyers watched as Nobs, who was promoting shows around Switzerland, was building the Montreux Jazz Festival up organically. Nobs was looking for higher quality sound and contacted Meyer for advice on the On June , it was Jones now a Meyer Sound Senior Live Audio and Education Specialist - first time to the Montreux Jazz Festival representing Meyer Sound. He noted: To me, Montreux is far different from other festivals for several reasons. The beautiful setting and the fact that artists get full sound checks appears to diminish the common smaller Montreux Jazz Cafe, all based in the Lake Geneva Conference Centre. Dotted around the outskirts of the building are several small open-air stages where passers by can enjoy the setting to its full potential. But back indoors, Jones role for Meyer is to engage with other audio pros passing through. My main objective since attending with TPi AUGUST

6 Below: Benoit Saillet; Jose Gaudin from SkyNight PA; the outdoor scenes by the lake front; Team TPi with the legendary Quincy Jones. Meyer Sound is to network with visiting engineers and ensure they are very comfortable working with the Meyer Sound platform. We enjoy socialising with them while helping them with any technical questions or interests. Four years ago we had a database of 127 engineers who signed our guest book and we still stay in touch with many of them now! he beamed. Meyer Sound sends a highly trained technical team each year to assist wherever and however its necessary to ensure uncompromised audio performance for the festival. This team works very closely with the local Swiss engineers days before the concerts begin and remain for the duration of the festival, not only to help resolve any technical issues but also to answer any questions visiting engineers may have about Meyer Sound products or techniques. It s evident that touring engineers know they will have the absolute best provided for their visit. The festival is confident they are supplying a reliable solution for their visitors. Jones continued: I have witnessed the majority of engineers who come through the festival strengthen their attitudes and practices toward Meyer Sound by performing at this festival. With all of the venues sounding so good, engineers often mention how they are able to relate on their work as a sound mixer without distraction or delay. I think that s the best compliment that we get at Montreux, and we get it often! Alongside Jones is Miguel Lourtie, a European Technical Services Manager, based out of Portugal. My role was as part of the support team that Meyer Sound makes available to the festival. In that sense we are all - Thomas Mundorf, Martin Reich, Freddy Meyer, Brandon Rice, Jose Gaudin and myself - part of the Tech Services Team that are on-call for the festival for different periods of time. Year after year, the festival s eclectic mix of artists and venues has provided a wonderful environment for the audience to enjoy live music. For Meyer Sound, Montreux has also been a great place for us to work closely with sound professionals from all around the world and gather their feedback of our new products, including the MJF-212A stage monitor, which was named after the festival, he told TPi. For the Stravinski Hall, Meyer Sound products could be clearly seen. The main L / R hangs comprised two by eight Meyer Sound Milo 90 curvilinear array loudspeakers, for down fill two Meyer Sound Milo 120 curvilinear array loudspeakers were used, in the centre cluster there were four Meyer Sound M elodie curvilinear array loudspeakers. Additionally, front fill consisted of six Meyer Sound M elodie curvilinear array loudspeakers. In fill utilised two Meyer Sound UPQ-1P loudspeakers, whilst out fill required two Meyer Sound UPA-2P loudspeakers, cardioid line subwoofers, and 12 Meyer Sound 700HP HP subwoofers were configured as four cardioid blocks of three subwoofers each. For processing, two Galileo 616 s were used. On stage, side fill comprised three Meyer Sound JM-1P loudspeakers (per side), two Meyer Sound 600-HP self powered subwoofers for side fill, monitors used were 12 Meyer Sound MJF-212A powered monitors, and again, a Galileo 616 was deployed for processing. At the Miles Davis Hall, the main loudspeaker system comprised main L / R hangs three Meyer Sound JM-1P and a 600HP (per side) two Meyer Sound UPQ-1P loudspeakers for down fill, a Meyer Sound UPQ-1P loudspeaker for the centre cluster, and front fill used four Meyer Sound M elodie curvilinear array loudspeakers. Out fill warranted two Meyer Sound UPA-2P loudspeakers and five Meyer Sound UPJ-1Ps were used for delays. A total of nine 700HP were used set as three cardioid blocks of three 700HP each, processed via two Galileo 616 s. The stage set up mirrored the Stravinski. The Jazz Café used five Meyer Sound M elodie curvilinear array loudspeakers per side on the main hang with a centre downfill of Meyer Sound M elodie curvilinear array loudspeaker. Front fill was two further Meyer Sound M elodie curvilinear array loudspeakers and out fill was three Meyer Sound UPA-1P loudspeakers. The rear surrounds needed two Meyer Sound UPQ-1P loudspeakers and for VIP Delays, four Meyer Sound UPJ-1P loudspeakers. 68 TPi AUGUST 2012

7 Below: The Jazz Cafe played host to bustling crowds for three weeks; Shearwater performed an intimate show; the Stravinski venue up in lights. And a further 10 Meyer Sound UPM-1P Loudspeakers were used for delays. A cardioid line comprising five 600HP subwoofers was also deployed. The LF Extension required two Meyer Sound 1100-LFCs. Processing was via another Galileo 616. The stage used two Meyer Sound UPA-1P loudspeakers for side fill, and 12 Meyer Sound UM-1P Stage Monitors. California based Brandon Rice told us: I had the absolute pleasure of attending Montreux Jazz from Meyer Sound in a technical support role for the first time this year. The best way to put it in my opinion was live music and professional audio at its highest level. The history, stature and expectations of this festival lent itself to getting only the best equipment, technicians and talent resulting in some magical performances. Although we assist in the PA system tuning process, the day to day audio operations of the stages are handled by the festival. They have done a great job, namely by Eddy Broquet at Tonspur, at staffing the stages with fantastic mix engineers and technicians for the run of the show, so my role was simply to provide support for the PA systems and engineers as needed. I supported both Bernard and Benoit, the house engineers from Stravinski and Miles Davis but spent most of my time in Stravinski with Bernard taking care of the larger acts. We like to be available to openly discuss the system components and tuning with any guest engineers if questions arise. This year had 15 nights of shows by over 200 artists, so quite a variety comes through the systems night after night. Most of the engineers were thrilled with the clarity and power of the systems. The FOH tech for Herbert Gronemeyer said it was like hearing the band in a studio environment and he was able to pick out subtleties in the mix that he hadn t heard before even on the last date of their European tour, said Rice. It would appear that the Meyer systems have the capability to handle a massive variety of artists and genres on a very fast turn around, ranging from Tony Bennett to Pitbull without needing to make any changes to the tunings or configurations. This, said Rice, is what makes Montreux that much easier on the engineers. He continued: Our Swiss customer, SkyNight had over 230 Meyer loudspeakers between the five stages, not to mention close to another 100 for distributed background music for the various hospitality areas and bars in and around the Conference Centre. It was a great logistical feat no doubt but pulled off with absolute precision or at least it seemed from my point of view. The festival has a great family feel to it as a lot of the crew and staff return year after year from all over the world. I hope that I get the treat of attending again in the coming years but I feel honored to have been involved even just once, he enthused. RESPECTED RENTAL Eddy Broquet has worked in Switzerland s live industry for 10 years. In 2006 I worked for the Swiss Meyer Sound distributor and from 2011 I worked at Tonspur which is the Meyer Sound and DiGiCo reseller for Switzerland. I started working at Montreux Jazz Festival in 2003 and now I take care of all the audio equipment, installation and inventory checks. As of last year, I ve done the same job for Skynight, said Broquet. Skynight is the rental company that provides all the audio equipment from XLR cables, mic stands, DI box to stageboxes. What perhaps makes Skynight stand out as a rental company is its dedication to creating the ultimate experience for the visiting engineers by supplying brand new products every year maintaining the goal of keeping the highest level of sound quality that s possible. In the first week, we really have a lot to do with installation side. I have to take care that materials arrive in the right venue and that nothing is missing. In addition to the core sound crew, we have eight more people to help us during this week. When the festival starts, it s a bit more relaxing for me! I start the day about 12pm with the get-in of the two most important venues; Stravinski and Miles Davis Hall, and I have to be available in case of any problems, he continued. Broquet said of supplying DiGiCo to the festival yet again: The first word that comes to me is flexibility. You can do so many things with a small SD11, it s crazy! The bigger consoles, the SD5 and SD7 are just state of the art, but my favourite is the SD9. For its size, its flexibility, this console is amazing! TPi AUGUST

8 ON THE ROAD: Montreux Jazz Festival Below: Both Kimbra and Lana Del Ray played to sell-out crowds at MJF 2012; Shure provided an array of microphones and IEMs for the festival. We ve worked together at the festival for four years now and it s always a pleasure. David Webster and his technical support team, Dan Page, Roger Wood and Dave Bigg are all great guys, noted Broquet. It makes me happy and proud to say how easy it is to work with the Meyer Sound and DiGiCo teams. the extended site. Wolf said, As usual I will be on-site during the entire festival to guarantee perfect performances from our products! The first preparations regarding the technical elements where Shure is concerned usually start three months prior to the festival s first gig. It makes me happy and proud to say how easy it is to work with the Meyer Sound and DiGiCo teams. A SHURE THING Michael Wolf has been with Shure since In his role as Technical Support Manager he s responsible for all service-related tasks in the EMEA region. For 15 years he has been attending the Montreux Jazz Festival taking care of the frequency coordination, loaning equipment and assisting with any technical questions. Being a passionate musician, Germany based Wolf plays the trumpet as well as the drums and is a member of the German cover band United Sound Ltd. As in the past years, a core Shure crew was onsite as the Technical Supplier providing microphones and wireless systems for a total of 15 stages and locations throughout 70 TPi AUGUST 2012 Creating the product list in accordance with the production company, our goal as Shure is to include as many new products as possible. One week before the festival starts, it always gets a little bit hectic. Microphones need to be planned for the diverse locations and packed in cases, wireless systems need to be built in racks, connected and programmed, he added. Just a few wireless components this year comprised 16 channels of Shure Axient Wireless Management Network for the main stage at the Auditorium Stravinski - 50 channels UHF-R Wireless System, 20 channels PSM 1000 In-Ear Personal Monitoring System for both Stravinski and Miles Davis Hall. Wolf concluded: All in all we have over 1400 single products [microphones, transmitter, receiver, accessories] which need to be diposeted. I ve coordinated the frequencies beforehand in the Wireless Workbench Software to ensure all receivers and transmitters are programmed and able to plug and play. So, we were ready to go! UNEXPECTED OUTCOMES Montreux is, without doubt, an incredible festival to visit, as a music enthusiast, a writer, a lover of travel and certainly a TPi backstage bandit! Meeting the sound teams behind such a stunning feat was an absolute pleasure, and Team TPi even met a hero of mine, the charming, multi-talented and gentlemanly Quincy Jones. What a legend! A festival of truly dedicated and admirably passionate manufactures created a most welcome space for us to investigate the beauty of this event. Created out of a love of Jazz, today Montreux has blossomed into a fruitful home for clarity in any genre and technical support in several languages! Here is to the 47th MJF, get there if you can! TPi Photography: Zoe Mutter, Kimbra by Tom Kerr, Lana Del Ray by Nicole Nodland