The first permanent Montreux Jazz Café outside Switzerland has opened its doors at Sydney International Airport. Intended to evoke the legendary jazz festival’s atmosphere and ambience, and drawing on the input of founder/CEO Claude Nobs, the café features a sound system that was specified to deliver even coverage across all public spaces.
Developed in partnership with travel food specialist SSP, the Montreuz Jazz Café is described as an integral part of Sydney International Airport’s $500 million upgrade. Traditional Swiss dishes and fusion cuisine are among the fare on offer, while a ‘play box’ audio/video library allows access to thousands of classic performances from the festival’s four-decade-plus history.
Daren Lau, MD of SSP Asia Pacific, commented: “The opening of Montreux Jazz Café in Sydney will be an exciting development for SSP, for Sydney airport and its passengers, and for the greater community of Sydney. Montreux Jazz Café will offer a new experience to its customers, blending great food, culture, music and service into one. Together with Sydney Airport Corporation Limited, we are convinced that this formula will become a winner in Sydney and help set new standards for airport food and beverage.”
Audio-wise, the emphasis was on delivering warm, full bandwidth sound of a higher quality than that sometimes provided by background music systems. The control system had to accommodate both analogue and digital inputs, and allow for versatile signal processing. There also had to be scope for additional equipment to be brought in to allow the staging of occasional live performances; a dedicated space has been set aside for precisely this purpose.
An extensive document detailing the audio systems was supplied to IE, with the core specification including: six Bose Free Space FS3 Acoustimass bass modules; 24 Bose Free Space FS3 Flush Mount Satellite speakers; one Crown CDI-2000 amplifier; one dbx ZonePro 1261 DSP; one dbx ZonePro volume control panel; a Denon Carousel CD player; and an iPod input panel. All control, source and amplification equipment is contained in one 18U rack.
The opening of the Montreux Jazz Cafe occurs mere months before the 44th festival. Scheduled to take place from 2-17 July, this year’s event will feature a typically eclectic roster, including Brad Mehldau, Gil Scott-Heron, Herbie Hancock, Mark Knopfler, Massive Attack, Roxy Music and Jack White’s latest venture, The Dead Weather.