The opening ceremonies featured three simultaneous programs in its three spaces. The flagship Frederick P. Rose Hall hosted performances by the JALC Orchestra, featuring artistic director Wynton Marsalis directing a tribute to Duke Ellington and Count Basie. Performances by Arturo O'Farrill and special guests inaugurated the elegant Allen Room, which features Greek amphitheater-inspired architecture and a 90ft by 50ft glass wall overlooking Manhattan. The intimate Dizzy's Club was ushered in by the Bill Charlap Trio with guests Peter Washington and Kenny Washington.
The opening night's festivities were broadcast live on PBS and NPR, with host Ed Bradley moving from venue to venue as the evening progressed. Veteran mix engineer Ed Green oversaw the broadcast, which represented a number of technical challenges. "We set up a Mackie d8b on the ground floor, taking live feed from over 150 microphones on the 5th floor," Green recounts. "We followed Ed Bradley to each room, broadcasting a few songs from each show before moving on to the next."
In addition to the TV broadcast, radio network NPR was broadcasting each of the three shows in its entirety. In the two larger venues, the NPR live feed was mixed through two Mackie 32x8 analogue mixers. "The mix in each room was great, and we probably could have just taken a feed from each room, but we were much happier with the control and flexibility we had with direct feeds from each microphone," Green remarked. "The Mackie d8b allowed me to set up multiple mixes and routing configurations. There's simply no way we could have handled such a complex scenario without it. It was certainly a first, broadcasting such a technically complex show live, but it was well worth it."
(Lee Baldock)
