With the newly renovated Frederick P Rose Hall now open, Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC) now features Meyer Sound systems in every performance space within the prestigious New York City complex.

Sound Associates of New York led the coordination of all Meyer Sound systems throughout the venue, working on design with the JALC staff and Bob McCarthy, Director of System Optimization at Meyer Sound. Leopard was selected for the 1,233-capacity Rose Theater to provide controlled, even coverage throughout the irregularly shaped room while meeting the needs of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.

‘This is a big band with trumpets, trombones and saxophones, and that creates a considerable amount of unamplified acoustic energy coming off the stage,’ explains Doug Hosney, Chief Officer at Frederick P Rose Hall. ‘What we needed to be able to do – as transparently as possible – was to lift instruments like bass and piano into that acoustic energy for balance, but not have it sound like those instruments were artificially amplified.

The refurbished audio system is designed around dual arrays of 12-each Leopard loudspeakers and five 900-LFC low-frequency control elements in a cardioid cluster over the stage. Other Meyer Sound components include UPQ-1P, UPM-1P, UPJunior VariO, and UP-4XP loudspeakers, M3D-Sub directional subwoofers, and a Galileo Callisto loudspeaker management system with Galileo Callisto 616 array processors.

‘The line arrays we had before were considerably larger and not particularly linear in response,’ Hosney continues. ‘You had to drive them pretty hard before they would open up, so we wanted to replace them with arrays that operated cleanly at lower levels as well. That’s where Leopard stepped up to the table and just blew away the competition. It’s a sweet-sounding speaker and delivers a full-frequency, well-rounded sound even at lower levels. It’s exactly what we had been looking for.’

Appel Room & Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola

The Appel Room, with its floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Central Park and Columbus Circle, has the only Constellation acoustic system in a venue dedicated to jazz. ‘Now, the optimal listening environment can be tailor-made for each venue and each aural situation through the groundbreaking technology of Constellation,’ says JALC Managing and Artistic Director, Wynton Marsalis.

Constellation optimises the500-capacity room’s acoustics for both the audience and onstage artists, who rely on a virtual ‘shell’ above the stage to enfold them in their performance. ‘Acoustics set the playing field for all performances,’ says Marsalis. ‘In jazz and almost every form of music, extraordinary concerts can only happen when musicians hear each other clearly, and audiences hear and feel exactly what is happening on stage. Many a gig has been marred by poor acoustics. If you have a space that is even slightly problematic, do yourself a favour – install Constellation and perfect the experience for both musician and listener.’

The Appel Room’s balanced physical acoustics were designed by Sound of Jazz, a joint venture of Artec Consultants (now part of Arup) and the Walters-Storyk Design Group.

Sound reinforcement for the 140-capacity Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola club is supplied by five Meyer Sound UPA-1P loudspeakers augmented by UPJ-1P and UPM-1P loudspeakers, UMS-1P subwoofers, and a Galileo loudspeaker management system with Galileo 616 processors.

The redesign of public spaces – including the Mica & Ahmet Ertegun Atrium and the Ertegun Hall of Fame – was designed by Richard Olcott of Ennead Architects in conjunction with Mrs Ertegun. Audio reinforcement for casual gatherings in the Mica & Ahmet Ertegun Atrium is provided by six UPJ-1P loudspeakers, while the LED wall offers localized sound from UPJ-1P loudspeakers and 500-HP subwoofers. The nearby Ertegun Hall of Fame features four MM-4XP loudspeakers and two MM-10XP subwoofers.

‘From my earliest days as a sound engineer, I’ve felt strongly that our mission should be in service of the artists,’ says Meyer Sound President and CEO, John Meyer. ‘We are there to create environments where an artist can be sure that what they create onstage will be what audiences actually hear. It’s particularly gratifying when our work is praised by legendary musicians such as John Adams, Michael Tilson Thomas, or Wynton Marsalis because it means we’ve met our goal in supporting their extraordinary performances. We think ‘sound’ so artists can focus on making art.’

More: www.meyersound.com