The 25^th Jazz an der Donau (Jazz on the Danube) festival ran from July 14-17 this year in Straubing, Bavaria. The event was marked not only by the performances of international greats including TOTO, Al Jarreau, and LaBrassBanda, but also by the presence of over 11,000 fans – allowing festival organizers to celebrate a jubilee and an attendance record at the same time.

The sound reinforcement in the festival marquee, which can accommodate up to 4,500 people at a time, was once again the responsibility of a team of technicians led by Ingo Haasch, Technical Support Manager, Pro Audio EMEA, EVI Audio GmbH. True to the motto “Never change a winning team,” Haasch relied largely on the equipment that had performed such sterling service at the same event last year: an Electro-Voice XLC line-array system with FIR-Drive. This year the system’s versatility was put to the test as never before, as the festival organizers opted to combine jazz and Latin sounds (Al Jarreau, Sérgio Mendes and Bill Evans, Randy Brecker/Soulbop) with world music (Cyminology), rock and funk (TOTO), the Cuban-inspired Los Dos Y Compañeros, and brass-laden folk/punk (LaBrassBanda). In addition, the grand finale, featuring acid-tongued cabaret artist Martina Schwarzmann, called for a high level of intelligibility.

Despite the varied demands imposed on the sound reinforcement solution, it passed each test with flying colors. "We've been responsible for the sound reinforcement at this festival now for the last nine years," comments Ingo Haasch. "The experience we’ve gleaned over the years has naturally proved invaluable and influenced our decisions once again in 2011. Even though by now it's only a question of fine-tuning, the results as we optimize and tweak the system just keep getting better."

The solution this year comprised 2x 7 XLC127DVX and 2x 3 XLC215DVX enclosures combined with DYNACORD VL 262 loudspeakers supplying front fill and VL 112 out fill (for details see below). Foldback was provided by 20 DYNACORD CXM 15 wedges and four DYNACORD VL 212 loudspeakers (for side fill). The system was driven by a combination of Electro-Voice TG7 and DYNACORD H5000 power amplifiers. A NetMax N8000 controller from Electro-Voice (with 32 audio channels) proved particularly valuable, offering intensive control of the entire system. "Even though the sound engineers of some acts were by no means timid with the faders," reports Haasch, "no act even came close to stretching the system. Plenty of headroom was available at all times." Adds Ralph Huber of Jazz on the Danube: "A great many guests complimented us on the outstanding quality of the sound. The coverage throughout the entire marquee was outstanding."

The performers were of the same mind: Al Jarreau was equally enthusiastic after his own much-acclaimed show. Nor did Hussain Jiffry, Sérgio Mendes's bass player, feel it necessary to hedge his praise. The sound, he told us, was "simply marvellous."

Equipment list for Jazz an der Donau (Jazz on the Danube) (extract) PA 14x Electro-Voice XLC127DVX

6x Electro-Voice XLC215 DVX

2x DYNACORD VL 262 for front fill

2x DYNACORD VL 112 for out fill

Subs

6x Electro-Voice Xsubs in a cardioid configuration

4x Electro-Voice XCS312 in an array configuration in front of the stage

5x Electro-Voice Dx46 FIR-Drive controllers

24x Electro-Voice TG7 amps

Delay

2x Electro-Voice 4XLE

4x Electro-Voice Xsubs in a cardioid configuration

4x Electro-Voice TG7 amps

1x Dx46 FIR-Drive loudspeaker controller

1x NetMax N8000 controller

Monitors

20x DYNACORD CXM 15

21x H5000 with RCM 26 modules

2x DYNACORD Sub 118 for drum fill sub extension 

Side fill

4x DYNACORD VL 212

2x DYNACORD Sub 28

3x DYNACORD H5000/RCM ´26

EV microphones 8x Electro-Voice RE20

4x Electro-Voice RE16

2x Electro-Voice N/D868

snapshot, gm/mg, September 2011