From Paris to the Forbidden City

Beijing, China (September 3, 2024)—If anyone still needed proof that jazz is an international language unto itself, the Paris Jazz Quintet recently played the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing, using the show to collaborate with Chinese musician Jinlong Fang and pianist David Qu on jazz renditions of well-known Chinese songs. Chinese AV solutions provider EZPro was tasked with supplying the sound system for the concert, and the audio company chose Allen & Heath mixers for the occasion.

To handle FOH and monitors simultaneously, EZPro deployed a 64-channel / 42-bus Avantis Solo mixer; this was partnered onstage with a GX4816 remote audio expander providing 48 mic/line inputs and 16 line outs.

The concert, part of a series of programs to mark the 25th anniversary of the venue’s reopening, featured 20 input signals, including piano, guitar, bass, accordion, drums, and traditional Chinese instruments like the pipa (Chinese lute), ruan, erhu, and flute. The sound engineer assigned these inputs across fader layers A and B of the Avantis Solo, ensuring that each instrument signal was within reach. Additionally, aux buses and intercom channels were configured on layer C, while complex instrument signals were grouped into a DCA on layer D.

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The stage monitoring featured six individual monitors controlled via six aux buses, each dedicated to a specific instrument or musician: piano, bass, drums, electric guitar, accordion, and Jinlong Fang.

Reflecting on the experience, the engineer noted,”The Avantis Solo…interface is intuitive, allowing me to quickly locate and adjust settings. I was particularly impressed with how easy it was to integrate the Dyn8 multiband processor—just a few clicks and I was ready to go. It made the entire process incredibly convenient.”