Yamaha consoles at Perugia’s prestigious festival
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| Beppe Bottega (FOH) |
Luca Morson (Monitors) |
This year, Perugia hosted the 33rd edition of Umbria Jazz, always a reference point for fans in Italia and the rest of the world, who pack the town’s countless venues, where good music is the common denominator: from homely trattorias and intimate bars to the 4,600-seat Santa Giuliana Arena.
Two of the most prestigious of these location featured Yamaha technology: Piazza IV Novembre and the Arena.
At his second year as “resident” FOH sound engineer at the Santa Giuliana Arena, Piero Bravin is a veteran of the Italian live scene, as well as the broadcast sector. He enthused about this edition of the event: “Professionally speaking, it was the best year for me – we got on really well with the sound engineers of the artists, who included Pat Metheny, Wayne Shorter, Diana Krall and Chick Corea, who performed with his quartet and the Bavarian Chamber Philharmonic”.
The Yamaha console that Reference Laboratory (audio and lighting contractor at the Arena, for which it also provided a complete range of its specialized cables) put at the disposal of those who preferred working on the digital domain - a PM5D-RH - was chosen personally for the occasion by Bravin, who explained: “In my opinion, those who opted for analogue did so precisely because they don’t exploit the technology, using the compressors very little, and the filters even less, so they’d only have used a ridiculous percentage of a digital desk’s potential. I chose it for its all-round practicality, as well as the fact that digital technology is extremely useful at festivals.”
The console was used by the sound engineer of emerging star Jamie Cullum, for his fusion of Jazz, Pop and Soul, whom Bravin gave considerable support, and by Bravin himself for two artists who performed totally different genres: a living Rhythm & Blues legend - Solomon Burke - and Colombian harp virtuoso Edmar Castaneda. Bravin, an experienced user of Yamaha mixing systems, added: “With them, I also used the desk’s on-board compressors a lot.”
After travelling up on the suggestive escalators that pass through the Rocca Paolina fortress and leaving behind them the stage set up in the Carducci Gardens (where a series of Jazz, Blues e Gospel artists performed non-stop from noon to midnight, using another sound system supplied by Reference Laboratory), the fans that flock to the Umbria town every year walk along the main street to the central Piazza IV Novembre. At dusk, the square is transformed from a busy crossroads into a suggestive open-air theatre, brought to life by the powerful swing of big bands, the joyful faith of the Gospel groups, and a contagious fusion of many other genres, all of which have Jazz as a key ingredient.
As well as Bobby Jones & Nashville Super Choir, Bradley University Big Band, The Reverse, Ray Gelato’s Giants, Monterey Next Generation Jazz Orchestra and Funk Off, a highly talented street band from nearby Tuscany, the large stage set up in the square also hosted concerts that were explosive concentrates of rhythm, with the infectious afro sounds of Mory Kante and his kora and Latino magic of Sergio Mendes and his band.
For this highly varied bill’s artists, following the previous edition’s positive results, rental firm Pro Sound Service of Silea (near Treviso) installed two PM5D consoles, entrusted to the capable hands of Beppe Bottega (FOH) and Luca Morson (monitors). Cristian Bobbo, one of PSS’s founding partners, explained, “As well as the summer and winter editions of Umbria Jazz, we work on extremely varied projects - for example, our PM5D consoles were used this year in the famous St Mark’s Square during the Venice Carnival and, at the end of the summer, for two ‘pyro-musical’ shows at the city’s Film Festival.”
Bottega said, “The sound engineers with the ‘headliners’ - Mory Kante and Sergio Mendes – were familiar with the consoles and had their ‘scenes’ ready on cards or laptops, which enabled us to reduce sound check time considerably. This is an increasingly frequent modus operandi, and this year I worked with other important foreign artists, who specifically requested the PM5D, and they too turned up at the venues with their ‘cards’ ready to use.”
In Perugia, the microphone set-up was quite similar for the various line-ups, so Bottega created a basic scene for each big band during rehearsals. “As usual, there was very little time for sound-checks” he continued “so, having a desk like that in such a situation was a godsend - after having recalled the scene stored the previous day, and tweaked it slightly, we were ready to go. As far as dynamics went, I only used the PM5D’s on-board facilities.”
Like Bottega, Morson had already worked on several previous editions of Umbria Jazz, and he compared the use made of the PM5D in Perugia with his touring experience. “I used it with Nek and Piero Pelù (top Italian pop stars) and, even if I wouldn’t say I have an in-depth knowledge of it - you never stop learning with digital systems - I really like it and know it quite well. During tours, I create my scenes, store them and then make any small adjustments that are required, whereas, when working on projects like the concerts in the Perugia square - or even other festivals - digital desks are of fundamental importance, precisely because there are groups alternating on stage for the entire duration of the festival. The PM5D is extremely intuitive and easy to use, and all its functions can be used in various ways. During the first two days, I set and stored the scenes, which really facilitated my work later.”
With the Sergio Mendes band, there were sixteen sends for the stage monitors and, with the Brazilian musician, both the PM5Ds were practically ‘full’ as far as inputs went.
Morson concluded, “It was a rather complicated situation, with twin keyboard set-ups, two very well equipped percussionists, a large drum kit and quite a number of vocal mics – it was very interesting and complex, but the work was enjoyable and, during the eleven days of the festival, Beppe and I received a lot of compliments – from the bands themselves and their sound engineers.”
