[low.pfile]

Any of you jazz cats go to the opening of the new SF Jazz Center?

A one-of-a-kind venue I hear....my friends checked it out.

http://www.sfjazz.org/built-jazz

[R_burke]

OK, so go ahead and make me feel worse about moving out of the Bay Area 

[watercourse]

So, I went to two Dave Holland shows at the new Center: the duet with Kenny Barron, and with his new "electric" quartet, Prism. Both times, the music was just AWESOME, but the bass sound was WAY off. I can't count the number of times I've seen Dave and the gang, so I know his sound pretty well. Oddly, the piano and drums sounded pristine, but only the amplified instruments were off.

I was in row "K" both times, and I told the manager what was happening. Hopefully, they have fixed this problem.

Anyone else see any shows, and if so, can you report back what you heard? I have a vested interest in making this the best venue in the Bay Area, so I hope they have taken my suggestions seriously.

[airhead]

Can you say more about the bass?  Bass response is tremendously variable from one place to another, and I don't think
you can expect a group to sound the "same" in different venues.  What I don't like is if the bass is excessively heavy, muddy, or fuzzy.  What did you (or didn't you hear)?

[watercourse]

You nailed it. The bass was so muddy that it masked Kevin Eubanks' playing. Without prompting, I asked my wife "what do you think of the sound?" She answered "It sounds really muddy". I asked the man next to me (who was a donor) whether he thought it sounded muddy, and he agreed. We both decided to move.

I went down to some open seats in row G and it sounded better, but still a tad midbass heavy. I don't think it was the room, I think it was the soundboard.

I don't agree that different venues can't have good enough acoustics that groups can sound similar. I've heard Dave Holland in at least 4 venues of varying sizes and shapes (Koncepts, Yoshi's Oak and SF, Palace of Fine Arts). In all previous cases, one could hear Dave's bass sound as very similar to what you hear on CD, only more live (duh) and dynamic.

What I experienced at the new center reminds me of another place I visited when it just opened. If anyone remembers the short-lived jazz venue "Storyville" on Fulton, I saw Wallace Roney and Geri Allen there if not on opening night, then right afterwards. Low ceilings, lots of tables, lots of pillars, tiny place, lots of energy being so close to the musicians. The sound was terrible until Wallace got on the soundboard and tweaked it so that his wife sounded better, and the cymbals weren't so hot. He didn't look too happy about needing to do that, but the sound guy was doubling as wait staff.

I want everyone to know that I did speak to management, and hopefully they have fixed this. I don't mean to turn people away from this venue, in fact, I want it around FOREVER. I am going back for the Afro-Cuban All Stars on Sunday, so I'll let y'all know.