Visitors can also experience Meyer Sound technology throughout JALC's stunningly redesigned public spaces, including the Mica & Ahmet Ertegun Atrium and the Ertegun Hall of Fame. The mission of JALC is to entertain, enrich, and expand a global community for jazz through performance, education, and advocacy. Sound is at the heart of the company's commitment to providing the highest quality artistic and audience experience.
Sound Associates of New York led the coordination of all Meyer Sound systems throughout the venue, working collaboratively on design with the JALC staff and Bob McCarthy, director of system optimization at Meyer Sound. The overall renovations of the JALC public spaces were designed by Richard Olcott of Ennead Architects in conjunction with Mrs. Ertegun.
The iconic 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 Wynton Marsalis, managing and artistic director of JALC.
Leopard, one of the most successful products in Meyer Sound's 35-year history, was selected for the 1,233-capacity Rose Theatre 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 line arrays we had before were considerably larger and not particularly linear in response," continues Hosney. "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."
In the 500-capacity Appel Room, Constellation optimizes the 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."
"From my earliest days as a sound engineer, I've felt strongly that our mission should be in service of the artists," says John Meyer, company president and CEO. "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 'so
