Monterey, CA (October 14, 2026) – The Monterey Jazz Festival, celebrated as the world’s longest continuously running jazz festival, marked its 69th edition at the historic Monterey County Fairgrounds with a comprehensive audio upgrade powered by d&b audiotechnik. Production partner Live Box Digital (LBD) deployed a d&b KSL system on the main Jimmy Lyons Stage, complemented by d&b’s new CCL (Compact Cardioid Line array) loudspeakers across three secondary stages.
Featuring a legendary lineup of jazz icons and rising stars—including Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Wynton Marsalis with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, David Sanchez, Ravi Coltrane, Aja Monet, and Brittany Davis and Black Thunder—the three-day festival presents unique acoustic challenges. Set within the Monterey County Fairgrounds, the site is bounded within 1,000 feet by both residential neighborhoods and the Monterey Pines Golf Club, making precise pattern control and boundary containment essential.
“Our goal was to elevate the auditory experience across the entire fairgrounds while maintaining strict acoustic boundaries,” explains Jamison Valerio, CEO and Managing Partner at Live Box Digital. “d&b’s broadband directivity control gives us excellent pattern control, resulting in the clarity needed for delicate jazz performances. We can deliver powerful, articulate sound to every seat in the house, while keeping noise out of both sensitive stage microphones and the surrounding neighborhood.”
The connection between the festival and the Live Box Digital team runs deep. Many of LBD’s core personnel previously managed audio for Monterey Jazz during their tenure at McCune Sound, the festival’s historic production provider for four decades. When McCune closed their doors, Live Box Digital stepped in with their extensive d&b inventory.
“Having worked this festival for decades, preserving its acoustic integrity is personal to us,” says Patrick Morris, Account Representative at Live Box Digital. “After deploying d&b across all stages, festival leadership told us it was the best sound Monterey Jazz had ever experienced. This year, we wanted to raise the bar even higher by introducing CCL loudspeakers to the secondary stages for enhanced mid-range definition, high-end detail, and full cardioid performance for the artists on stage.”
On the main Jimmy Lyons Stage—an iconic arena with strict rigging weight limits—LBD hung nine KSL enclosures per side. And for the festival’s smaller stages, the compact footprint and lightweight design of the CCL proved to be game-changing.
“The cardioid performance of the KSL arrays makes a massive difference,” notes Orjan Bliven, Live Sound Engineer at Live Box Digital. “Because there is virtually no low-end spill off the back of the PA, the stage remains extremely quiet for acoustic bass, grand pianos, and vocal mics. In fact, festival videographers were able to mount a useable Robocam directly to the front of the stage structure for the first time without camera shake from subwoofer bleed.”
“And the CCL is quickly becoming one of my favorite boxes,” Bliven continues. “Its clarity and detailed high end bring out every nuance of jazz instrumentation. Furthermore, its compact profile preserves critical sightlines for large LED screens while allowing us to deploy high-impact sound rapidly using smaller lift towers.”
Pete Bender, Production Manager for Audio and Video at the Monterey Jazz Festival, praised the ongoing partnership with Live Box Digital and d&b audiotechnik. “2026 marks the fourth year we’ve utilized Live Box Digital’s KSL system on the main stage, and it continues to impress,” says Bender. “Extending d&b technology to all stages—and introducing the new CCL system this year—has received positive reviews from our mix engineers and festival patrons alike.”
About the System Configurations
Jimmy Lyons Main Stage: The main PA features a flown left and right array of 9 x KSL enclosures per side (7 x KSL8 over 2 x KSL12). Low-frequency reinforcement is provided by 4 x SL-SUB subwoofers deployed in an end-fire configuration to respect visual sightlines and stage limits. The system is optimized using d&b ArrayCalc and ArrayProcessing, and powered by d&b D80 amplifiers.
Secondary Stages: The festival’s three secondary performance stages feature d&b CL-Series compact cardioid line arrays deployed in flown and ground-supported configurations, supported by d&b V-SUB subwoofers and powered by D40 amplifiers.
About d&b audiotechnik.
d&b audiotechnik provides professional audio technology and solutions to accurately transfer passions through high-end quality speech and music reproduction. d&b audiotechnik is internationally regarded as a leading company for sound reinforcement systems in installed and mobile applications, with a reputation for quality of construction, standard of service, system integration principles, and pioneering technological development.
Founded in Germany in 1981, d&b audiotechnik headquarters are located in Backnang, near Stuttgart, where research, development and production take place. With sales offices in major cities around the world, the d&b audiotechnik team numbers more than 800 co-workers. www.dbaudio.com.
About Monterey Jazz
Founded in 1958 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit education organization, Monterey Jazz has been committed to celebrating America’s creativity and cultural heritage by presenting legendary jazz musicians, composers, and young rising stars. Learn more at MontereyJazz.org.
