The Side Door, a recently-opened small jazz club tucked away in Old Lyme, CT, hosts a roster of top musicians that are reinforced with compact K-array active loudspeaker systems.
The club is the brainchild of owner Kenneth Kitchings, a jazz devotee who has now realized a long-cherished dream.
“He (Kitchings) couldn’t fail,” states George Wein, a pianist and the founder of the Newport Jazz Festival. “He’s not an owner who’s looking to make money. He loves jazz and gets more enjoyment from it than his customers do.”
The K-array KR102s providing reinforcement at the club are a great fit for venues and applications of this scope. The Side Door, with seating for only 75 people or so, offers an intimate listening experience, with the KR102s able to highlight more subtle instruments, blending them with louder elements on stage such as the drums.
Wein kick-started the club’s opening, making a rare appearance with clarinetist Anat Cohen and tenor saxophonist Lew Tabackin, word has since spread among the jazz community.
“It’s the perfect room because of the intimacy,” states alto saxophonist Steve Wilson, who’s already played there twice. “Acoustically, you don’t need a lot of amplification, if any. And the audience can be completely engaged. All the energy stays right there; it doesn’t get dispersed.”