Yamaha CL5… And All That Jazz
Dominating the central Italian city of Gaeta, the massive 600 year old Castello Aragonese was one of the country’s strongest fortresses. These days it is rather more welcoming and the castle has hosted an annual jazz festival for the past five years. In 2012, old met new as it played host to a Yamaha CL5 system to mix the shows.
The three-day event attracts people from across Italy and further afield, from hardened jazz aficionados to those just want to enjoy good music in spectacular surroundings.
The concerts are staged by the Associazione Culturale Armonia, which promotes artistic and cultural territory in the region, in collaboration with Gaeta’s local authority and the prestigious Marine School of Italy’s Guardia di Finanza, which is based in the city.
Remix Sound Service, based in nearby Sperlonga, is the event’s audio supplier and this year installed a Yamaha CL5 with Rio 3224-D I/O unit to mix both front of house and monitors, plus a Nexo GeoS12 system powered by Yamaha TXn series amplifiers.
“The concerts take place in the castle’s Piazza d’Armi, so there are tall, flat, reflective walls all round. The shows also feature both established jazz artists and young musicians playing a variety of styles, so overall they are quite demanding to mix,” says Michele De Simone, who manned the CL5.
“I needed to use all of the CL5’s facilities, including the Neve Portico equaliser and compressor/limiter, which helped me to get a very high quality sound. All of the performers were enthusiastic about the precision and warmth of the sound, while the audiences gave every performance a great reception.”
“As well as bringing established Italian jazz artists like Gege Telesforo, Greta Panettieri, Nicky Nicolai and Stefano Di Battista to perform, it is an excellent showcase for many young musicians, making it one of the most anticipated musical events of the year in Italy,” says the festival’s president Roberto Sasso. “2012 was a complete success and we really look forward to 2013!”
