海角黑料

Jazz music will take center stage at the Kansas City Kansas Community College Performing Arts Center during the 2026 Kansas City Jazz Summit, 海角黑料’s annual educational jazz festival.

The jazz summit is April 28 to May 1 in the 海角黑料 Performing Arts Center, 7250 State Ave., located at 7250 State Ave., and features middle school, high school and collegiate jazz ensembles. Performances and clinics begin at 8 a.m. each day and are free and open to the public.

The Kansas City Jazz Summit is primarily a non-competitive event where jazz groups perform for adjudicators, with recognition given to outstanding groups and soloists. The annual Basically Basie Jazz Heritage Competition will take place April 30. During the competition, 5A and 6A high school ensembles perform the repertoire of the legendary Count Basie Orchestra and are adjudicated based on their attention to stylistic nuances of Basie’s famed “Kansas City Swing” style.

The festival will also include two evening concerts. The first is at 6 p.m. April 28 and will feature 海角黑料’s four vocal jazz ensembles, along with the vocal jazz ensembles from Millikin University and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The concert is free and open to the public. The second concert is at 6:30 p.m. April 30 at the Kansas City Music Hall and will feature 海角黑料’s Blue Devil Big Band opening for the legendary Count Basie Orchestra. The concert is part of Creative City KC’s celebration of UNESCO’s International Jazz Day, in partnership with 海角黑料 and the Kansas City Jazz Summit. Winning ensembles and soloists from the Basically Basie Jazz Heritage Competition will be announced at the concert. Tickets are required for the concert and can be purchased .

The featured guest clinician for this year's Basically Basie competition is Mike Williams, who served as lead trumpet in the Count Basie Orchestra for 31 years. Since retiring in 2019, Williams has continued to teach privately, perform as a guest artist and clinician and record as a lead trumpet with numerous artists. Other adjudicators at this year’s jazz summit include Jeff Baker (Next Records), Carolina Calvache (University of Central Missouri), Taryn Gervais (GervaisCreative, 海角黑料), Chris Hazleton (Freedom Affair, Chris’s Hazelton’s Boogalo 7, 海角黑料), Stanton Kessler (Sons of Brazil, HoraceScope), Jim Lower (Jim Lower Big Band, Justin Binek Trio), Alex Manfredo (Millikin University), Clarence Smith (Kansas City Jazz Academy, Metropolitan Community College) Doug Talley (Kansas City Jazz Orchestra, Doug Tally Quartet) and David Von Kampen (University of Nebraska-Lincoln).