Jazz à Juan Features DiGiCo SD Ten

Two weeks in July heralded the 51st edition of the International Jazz à Juan, held beachside in Antibes/Juan-les-Pins in the south of France. The event, which feature Herbie Hancock, B.B. King, and Santant, featured DiGiCo's SD Ten console.

Jazz à Juan is the longest-running jazz festival in Europe and is organized by Jean-René Palacio, artistic director of the Société des Bains de Mer (SBM), based in the principality of Monaco -- also the organiser of the Monte-Carlo Jazz Festival, which DiGiCo has sponsored for the past four years.

As with Monte-Carlo, his audio supplier of choice is French sales and rental company Arpege Son Lumière, whose co-owner, Philippe Barguirdjian, knows exactly what Palacio requires. This year, along with front of house engineer Alain Courieux, Barguirdjian made the decision to utilize DiGiCo SD Tens at both the front-of-house and monitor positions.

"Jazz à Juan is one of the oldest and best jazz festivals there is, so we wanted to use one of the best consoles on the market," says Courieux, who is also Jean Michel Jarre's long-time front-of-house engineer. "I've been using DiGiCo consoles for the past seven or eight years. I use an SD7 when I'm working with Jean Michel because it sounds fantastic -- Jean Michel is so happy with the sound quality that he also has one in his studio -- and it's the only console I know of where I can use over 180 channels.

"This experience with the SD7 meant that we were sure the SD Ten would have exactly what we need for Jazz à Juan."

The festival insistence that all visiting engineers use the equipment provided by Arpege "We don't have any need for racks, as everything is done within the console itself, which makes life simpler," continues Courier. "All the visiting engineers were happy with the way the SD Ten works, and with the plugins, etc. Even those that were a bit nervous because they hadn't used a DiGiCo before really liked it because it's so easy to use and the sound is so clear."

Courieux adds, "With the beautiful weather, the beach and an SD Ten in front of them, they feel like they're on holiday."